30 August, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (TT10)



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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!




Book: Rae
Author: Chelsea Rea Swiggett



My mom says, pretty rudely but fairly, that if I miss school another day, I have to go to the doctor. Even though I know I'm not sick, I say I'll go anyway. I'd rather face a doctor with absolutely no symptoms than walk into school again. (page 44)






Book: Heart of Lies
Author: M.L. Malcolm



It was too much. She was too weak. She stood still, unable to move any farther than the five thousand miles she'd traveled to be there.

Then she saw him, and burst into tears.

In two long strides Leo reached her. (page 124)

Advance Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Book: LOW RED MOON
Author: IVY DEVLIN
Genre: YA FANTASY/ PARANORMAL ROMANCE



I received this ARC from the author, Ivy Devlin
Picture courtesy of Good Reads


Review
Avery Hood is alive, while her parents are dead. What haunts her the most about the night of their death is that she can't remember a thing. As Avery tries to adjust to living without her beloved parents, she feels compelled to explain the deadly flash of silver that she saw that night. As Avery tries to adjust to living with her estranged grandmother, she must stop the town that she calls her home, from destroying the house that holds her heart.

Then, Ben enters her life. She is drawn to him, and he to her. But, Ben is not wholly human. His secret could destroy the tentative trust that Avery has given to him. His secret could explain the horrible death that her parents suffered. The woods whisper to Avery that a killer is close, in more ways than one.

LOW RED MOON is a great paranormal debut for Ivy Devlin. She writes about the relationship and connection that Avery has to the woods, though it is ultimately there, just outside of her house -her home- that her parents perish. This appealed to me. Even though, she could have become bitter and vengeful at the turn of events, Avery is even more drawn to the mysteries of the forest. She fights to keep the town from destroying everything that her parents built.

At its heart, LOW RED MOON is a paranormal romance. On the back cover, Ben is outed as a werewolf, so I felt that the mystery surrounding who and what he is was drawn out a little longer than necessary. At the same time, I really enjoyed the spooky and captivating writing that kept the novel seeming almost more murder mystery than fantasy.

3.5/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4/5 for language
My Rating: 11.5/15 Highly Recommend
Bonus Cover Points: 3/5
(Finished cover displayed)

28 August, 2010

In My Mailbox (IMM 11)





In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. (Inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.)




For Review:

Rae by Chelsea Rae Swiggett (Purchased during PAYA to benefit PA public libraries)

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus (From Star Book Tours)







For Review: (e-book)
Hush Money by Susan Bischoff




Won In Contest: (From PAYA raffle)

White Cat by Holly Black

White Cat gloves and pin

(Note: I'll probably give White Cat away on the blog soon, because I already have my own copy)




Bought: (purchased during midnight release party at Children's Book World)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins









From the Library:

A Wild Light by Marjorie M. Liu

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

Can't Teach and Old Demon New Tricks by Cara Lockwood

Captured by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong (playaway audiobook)


I was really happy to find The Reckoning in stock when I made a visit to the library this week. I've already listened to The Summoning, and am currently more than halfway through The Awakening. This will be the first series that I have fully listened to as audiobooks, without having read any as print books. I intend to do a special joint review, in September, on my experience.

How was your mailbox this week?

Halo, Revolution and White Cat Giveaway!

Recently, I looked through my BEA books, and realized that I will not be able to get to all of them, before their release date.

I was looking forward to reading Halo by Alexandra Adornetto, and I'd like to find a new home for it. Someone that will review it somewhere, even if they can't quite get in an advance review. So, I'm going to give it away, but I need the winner to have an active blog or Good Reads account. This is one of the very few times that I will have such a requirement for a giveaway.









I also have a spare copy of Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Not sure how that happened. I really can't remember how I ended up with two, but the copy that I am giving away was sent on an ARC tour, so it does look used. The one that is unread, is personally signed to me.

And lastly, on August 21, I attended PAYA, a really great gathering of authors, readers and bloggers to benefit Pennsylvania's public libraries. It was organized by a teen blogger, Harmony of Harmony Book Reviews. There was a awesome raffle that included some great YA books and swag. I won White Cat! Which I have a copy of already, so I am giving that away, too.


Please fill out the form embedded below, or click on THIS LINK to enter.
Giveaway open to 13 years of age and older. Ends September 6th, 6pm (EDT)






26 August, 2010

Shadow Hills E-Book Available Now

August 24, 2010 was a very big day for many readers. Yes, that is my try at an oblique reference to Mockingjay. I'm not going to lie. I was at a midnight release party at my local indie. I stayed up until 4:30am reading the book in one sitting. I crashed and burned and overslept Wednesday morning.

But, something else pretty cool happened on Tuesday also. And, that was the e-book release of SHADOW HILLS by Anastasia Hopcus.

Since I got my Nook in April, I have found how convenient it is to download e-books from Barnes and Noble. Immediate gratification. And slightly nicer to my wallet. Know what else is cool about B&N and Amazon? You don't have to have an e-reader to access their electronic library. Download to your PC or MAC for the same quick availability.

So, go ahead. Get clicky clicky on those links. Yeah, right now!

23 August, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (TT9)



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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Book: The Replacement
Author: Brenna Yovanoff



I wanted to hug her and say that everything was much better than she believed. It was just so strange that she couldn't see.

"Emma-" I got a tight feeling in my throat and started again. "Emma, Mom didn't make me like this. Keep me alive this long...You did." (page 126, ARC copy)




Book: Shadow Blade
Author: Seressia Glass



Kira didn't know how a woman four inches shorter than she, even in heels, could look down on her, but Sanchez managed it. "If you think your Men in Black clones can handle a Fallen, go ahead. But you better make sure your affairs are in order, because you will die. Quickly, if you're blessed." (page 57)

21 August, 2010

In My Mailbox (IMM9 & IMM10)





In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. (Inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.)


Last weekend, I participated in a read-a-thon. Since I was reading my heart out, I missed posting my IMM, and I've included two weeks in this post. The read-a-thon also meant that I took out a shedload of library books to keep me occupied. Until I posted these pictures, I didn't quite realize that it was that many books!























For Review:

Received from NetGalley
Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver
Sins of the Soul by Eve Silver
Sins of the Flesh by Eve Silver
Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell


Received from Star Book Tours
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff























Bought:
As Lie The Dead by Kelly Meding


Swap:
Other by Karen Kincy
Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw
Infinite Days Rebecca Maizel
Return the Heart by T.K. Richardson
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


From the Library:
Masked by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon
Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
Rise of the Poison Moon by Anthony Alongi and MaryJanice Davidson
Hallowed Circle by Linda Robertson
Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (playaway audiobook)


The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima (playaway audiobook)
Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass
Shadow Chase by Seressia Glass

17 August, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (TT8)



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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Book: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins



"So here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" says Caesar, encouragingly.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning... won't help in my case," says Peeta.

"Why ever not?" says Caesar, mystified.

Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. "Because... because... she came here with me." (page 130)

16 August, 2010

Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up: Completed Books





These are the books that I have read during the read-a-thon. I started a little late on Friday, and didn't get to devote as much time as I wanted to reading over the weekend. (Or maybe, I just overestimated how much time I would have to spend reading!) Now, I didn't want to use up my reading time writing reviews. Sometimes, I can get them down really quickly, but other times, writing a review can take the better part of an hour. However, I wanted to do a little more than just a list of the books. So, here's what I came up with:



Book: TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN
Author: GINI KOCH
Genre: FANTASY
Rating: 3.5 STARS Highly Recommend


The Girl: Katherine "Kitty" Katt

The Boys: Jeffrey Martini and Christopher White

The Tweet: A woman, her ex-Mossad mother, CIA-operative father & a team of good-looking alien men fight invasion of superbeings. Cue laughs & mayhem.





Book: MASKED BY MOONLIGHT
Author: NANCY GIDEON
Genre: URBAN FANTASY/ PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Rating: 3.5 STARS Highly Recommend


The Girl: Charlotte Caissie

The Boy: Max Savoie

The Tweet: By day, Charlotte and Max are cop and criminal. Until they share one explosive, sultry New Orleans night. Murder, distrust and...love?





Book: SINS OF THE HEART
Author: EVE SILVER
Genre: URBAN FANTASY
Rating: 4.5 STARS Must Read

e-book

The Girl: Roxy Tam

The Boy: Dagan Krayle

The Tweet: The gritty Underworld, a soul reaper, and a Daughter of Aset collide, when the search for a dead man just might make allies out of enemies.



Book: CRUX
Author: MOIRA ROGERS
Genre: PARANORMAL ROMANCE/ SUSPENSE
4 STARS Must Read

e-book


The Girl: Mackenzie Brooks

The Boy: Jackson Holt

The Tweet: The future of a dying race of shapeshifters may rest on the shoulders of one woman. A madman has chosen her mate; her heart wants another.



Book: THE SUMMONING
Author: KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Genre: YA PARANORMAL/ SUSPENSE
3 STARS Recommend

Playaway audiobook

The Girl: Chloe Sunders

The Boy: Derek Souza

The Tweet: Mental patient or Necromancer? Chloe Saunders finds herself committed, with a motley crew of "special" teens, and must figure out the truth.




Book: WINTERCRAFT
Author: JENNA BURTENSHAW
Genre: YA FANTASY
2.5 STARS Worth Trying


The Girl: Kate Daniels

The Boy: Silas Dane

The Tweet: Kate Daniels is able to see through the veil of life & death. Taken by a killer, she's also pursued by another, far more dangerous, woman.






Book: OTHER
Author: KAREN KINCY
Genre: YA PARANORMAL
3.5 STARS Highly Recommend


The Girl: Gwen Williams

The Boys: Zach Arrington and Tavian Kimura

The Tweet: Maligned by humans, Gwen hides her Other status. But when a friend dies, she must seek answers, and avoid becoming the killer's next target.




I really enjoyed taking part in this read-a-thon, not just because it gave me a chance to read some of the books that I had hanging around, but because I gave myself permission to read books that may not end up being featured on my blog.

Thanks to Monica at The Bibliophilic Book Blog for putting this together. I hope all of the participants had as much fun as I did!

13 August, 2010

Read, Read, Read Like Never Before!



This is what I am doing with my weekend.
My TBR pile is huge, and I would love to get on top of the books that I have to read for my own enjoyment.

Here's the list that is the starting point of books that I am going to read:

To Finish:
Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch 174 pages
Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver 191 pages (e-book)
Crux by Moira Rogers 214 pages (e-book)
Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator by Janni Nell 183 pages (e-book)

To Read:
Masked by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon 375 pages
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (Playaway audiobook)
Hallowed Circle by Linda Robertson 374 pages
Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson 358 pages
Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw 278 pages
Other by Karen Kincy 326 pages

The Read Your Own Books Read-a-Thon is hosted by Monica S. at The Bibliophilic Book Blog, and more information can be found here. It lasts from 9:00 Friday, 13th August to 9:00 Monday, 16th August.

So, that means: Ready, Set, Read!

12 August, 2010

Advance Review: Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart

Book: DANGEROUS NEIGHBORS
Author: BETH KEPHART
Genre: HISTORICAL FICTION



I received this book from the author at BEA
Picture courtesy of Good Reads


Overview
Katherine and Anna are twin sisters that are so intertwined, heart and soul, as to almost be one. But, love and freedom and adulthood seek to pull the two further and further apart. And then one day, Anna is gone. Now, Katherine is left alone, feeling that her life should be at an end too.

Among the marvels of the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Fair, Katherine will have to come to terms with her crushing grief. Finding salvation is neither easy or painless, but Katherine must face her memories of Anna, and set her sister, and herself, free.

DANGEROUS NEIGHBORS begins at the end. Katherine has lost her sister, Anna. She finds herself cast adrift during a time when the city of her birth is celebrating the centennial of the nation's birth. It's very clear that Katherine deeply mourns her sister. The first few pages unfold so beautifully that I found myself caught up in Kephart's words instantly. I turned the pages, one after the other, completely engaged. It wasn't just that Kephart had such rich characterization for Katherine. Anna is there too, in the memories that take the reader back to when she was alive.

Even though the novel is told somewhat in reverse, I almost felt like the end was the beginning. Katherine is a whole being when I began reading. As I fell more and more into the story, I was able to see how she unraveled, with each encounter that she had with Anna, where Anna seemed to need her sister less and less. The more that the name Bennet was mentioned, the more Katherine moved toward the crisis point. And, while that point happened at the ice pond when Anna died, it is clear that a parting of the sisters would have been inevitable, even without the accident.

I actually have so many emotions about this novel, because I had such a connection while reading it. I'm just not sure that I could do justice to those feelings with my words. And, I almost feel like I don't want to share them. For me, DANGEROUS NEIGHBORS is like that first secret crush, or the meeting of hands, when you know that you've met your soulmate. I think this book is going to stay in my head, and in my heart for a very long time.

4/5 for plot
4.5/5 for characters
5/5 for language

My Rating: 13.5/15 Highly Recommend
Bonus Cover Points: 3.5/5

11 August, 2010

Advance Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Book: THE DUFF
Author: KODY KEPLINGER
Genre: CONTEMPORARY YA


I received this book through Star Book Tours
Picture courtesy of Good Reads

Advance Review
Bianca Piper is snarky and cynical, and knows just how to navigate her way through high school. Though she would never consider herself beautiful, Bianca is smart. It's better than being the female counterpoint to Wesley Rush. There's no girl he won't date, and no girl that won't date him. Except for the DUFF.

When Bianca finds out that Wesley considers her the DUFF (designated ugly fat friend), she throws soda on him, and shrugs off his statement. But, the name sticks, and suddenly, Wesley and her have to partner for a school project. How do they go from hating each other to kissing? Bianca puts it down to needing a distraction.

Her home life is in the gutter. Her dad drinks. Her mother is never around. An enemies-with-benefits affair seems just the thing to take Bianca's mind off everything that's going wrong in her life.

First, I have to say, I am really glad that I had a chance to read this book, in advance of its September release. There's been buzz surrounding the book itself, but also the author, who is only 18. I'm not the kind of person that thinks a teen can't write a good book (whether it is a commercial success or not). But yeah, experience, and practice, and a mature attitude can contribute to how well-written a novel is.

In the case of THE DUFF, I had to throw all of those preconceptions out of the window. This book is GOOD.

Let me get this out of the way right now: THERE IS SEXUAL CONTENT IN THIS BOOK. Some might say that the content is excessive. I don't. The sex is not included for vicarious thrills. It is key to the plot. I've read YA fantasy and urban fantasy that has much more creative sexual content in it. I can't say that I believe that sexual content doesn't belong in YA, anyway. If the characters are conducting some kind of porno-in-writing, I might object slightly.

I really enjoyed how Kody Keplinger fleshed out the characters of Bianca and Wesley. Each one had a school life that was fairly opposite of their personal life. Bianca didn't try to hide her wit and cleverness. It was like a shield for her, because of the uncertainty that she felt living with an alcoholic father. At the same time, Wesley was outgoing, popular, and always had people wanting to be with him. It's not hard to figure out that his school life directly contrasted with his home life.

Kody Keplinger has penned an extremely well-written novel. Sure, it's about self-image. But, it's also about the need to escape. No one wants to be the DUFF. Or the lonely kid. Or the one caught in the middle. Bianca finds something that will distract her from these feelings. She has sex with the one person that may be making her feel worse about herself. But, if any reader closes this book, and only remembers the sexual content, I'm going to say that they missed out. ON WAY TOO MUCH.

4.5/5 for plot
5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 14/15 Must Read
Bonus Cover Points: 4/5 (ARC cover; picture is finished cover)

10 August, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (TT7)



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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Book: Dangerous Neighbors
Author: Beth Kephart

I've received and ARC from the author. This book will be published on August, 24, 2010.


"Anna's been gone too long."

"It's early afternoon, child. Your sister will come back."

Time wobbled. Katherine worried. She could sit up now on her own, look across the room without a wave washing in, and calculate the hours Anna had been gone, the possibilities suggested from her absence. The implications. Had Anna been sick, Katherine would not have left her side. She knew as much for certain. (page 68, ARC copy)

09 August, 2010

Book Review: Whirlpool by Vivian Arend

Book: WHIRLPOOL
Author: VIVIAN AREND
Genre: PARANORMAL ROMANCE/MENAGE



I received this e-ARC from the author for review
Picture courtesy of Good Reads


Review:
Braden and Chelsea share a hunger for each other. Chelsea's always wanted him, but her plans for the future are looming, and she knows that she will be leaving Jaffrey's Cove for college. Only those plans have come to an abrupt halt, and Chelsea might be staying right where she is. What better time to express her feelings for the handsome sheriff?

Though Braden would like to be with Chelsea, he knows that her hormones - her merfolk hormones - are in full swing. And, sometimes, one man isn't enough for a lusty merwoman. Sometimes, she needs two men to assuage her need. Braden doesn't think that he could be with Chelsea, and share her.

But, then a very human Jamie Powell enters the picture. As a marine biologist, he's supposed to be cataloging the various finds in the merfolk leader's house. The chemistry between Chelsea and Jamie is instantaneous, and doesn't wane when they decide to make Braden jealous. What starts as a sensual game, soon turns into a three-for-all, with Braden and Jamie putting Chelsea in the middle.

Vivian Arend is one of the authors that I have spoken to on Twitter. One of those authors, that has such a personality that I think to myself, I bet I'd like their books. And I do. Without even realizing it, I've had her GRANITE LAKE WOLVES series on my computer for several years. In fact, WOLF SIGNS is one of the few e-book novellas that I have read more than once. So, I jumped at the chance to receive an e-ARC of WHIRLPOOL. Not realizing that it was the second book in the Forces of Nature series. The great thing about WHIRLPOOL though, it wasn't really necessary to have read the first, in order for me to immerse myself into the world of Jaffrey's Cove.

I've read menage stories before, but because there are so many combinations that can occur, I didn't really start reading with any particular expectations. Character-wise, I liked that Braden, Chelsea, and Jamie were all fully-fleshed out. It did seem as if Braden and Chelsea would be the focus of the menage, by the description, and I had high hopes that Jamie wouldn't fall by the wayside. He didn't. Actually, in terms of love scenes, I would have liked to have had more of Braden. Chelsea and Jamie formed a bond early on, and Braden never really seemed as if he was truly Chelsea's preference.

Almost all of the menage stories that I have read, were written one of two ways: a smutty, smexy, one-night stand, or a group of men sharing a woman as a lifestyle. Not that I have any problem with either, but WHIRLPOOL straddled this line very nicely. Braden was the more intense, husband-type guy, while Jamie was the younger, not-staying-permanently-in Jaffrey's-Cove guy. While the end seemed as if Braden was left alone somewhat, while Jamie and Chelsea went off together, I was happy at how Arend resolved their arrangement and commitment to each other.

4/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4/5 for language

My Rating: 12/15 Highly Recommend
Bonus Cover Points: 4/5

07 August, 2010

In My Mailbox (IMM8)




In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. (Inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.)


I've been trying to maintain my book buying ban (for my wallet's sake, and also because my TBR is HUGE.) I did accept a new review request, but pretty much stuck to the ban. However, I also made an unscheduled stop at the library. I couldn't resist, especially finding my request for Linger had come through!

So, what was in your mailbox?




For Review
Ordeal by T.K. Varenko (e-galley)


 
 
 





Borrowed
Other by Karen Kincy
Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
Return the Night by T.K. Richardson


 
 


 





From the Library
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Masked by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (Playaway audiobook)
Rise of the Poison Moon by MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi


 
 
 

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