Gratitude Giveaway WINNERS!

The Gratitude Giveaway has ended, thanks to everyone who entered! There were 142 entries for 2 different prizes. I did have to delete anyone who either didn't leave their email address (or tell me where to find it) or didn't tell me which prize they wanted.

The 2 prizes are a $15 Amazon email gift card and an ARC of Incarceron by Catherine Fisher.

According to random.org, the winner for the gift card is entry #95, Ronda!


According to random.org, the winner for the ARC of Incarceron is entry #60, Lora1967!


I've emailed both winners; please respond within 48 hours or I will pick 2 more winners.

To the other 140 people who entered but didn't win:

Stick around in December for at least 3 more giveaways, one of which is a part of the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop that starts December 21.

Gratitude Giveaway is CLOSED

My Gratitude Giveaway to thank all of my fabulous followers is now OVER. The winners for both prizes will be drawn and announced on Tuesday, November 30.

Stick around in December for at least 3 more giveaways, one of which is a part of the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop that starts December 21.

First Come, Second Served

I am super-excited to announce that I will be taking part in the December event First Come, Second Served that is being hosted by Down the Rabbit Hole.



I will be doing a giveaway, in addition to the guest posts and other giveaways that are already planned. This is a great opportunity to whittle down your TBR pile/shelf by reading all the sequels.

CLICK HERE for more information!

YA of the 80s and 90s Reading Challenge

I have decided to take part in the 2011 YA of the 80s and 90s Reading Challenge that is being hosted by The Book Vixen. This will be my first extended challenge on this blog.


Isn't that button just ADORABLE?! I ♥ it.

Basically, this challenge is all about reading YA novels from the 1980's and 1990's. Simple enough. I was a baby of the 80's and a child of the 90's, so a lot of the books I am planning to read, I am somewhat familiar with.

I am thinking that my goal will be at least 50 books for this specific challenge. That's one per week, but I know that I won't be taking any classes, so I won't be reading any educational texts or articles. It should also leave me enough time to read other books for tours and for fun.

I probably won't be reviewing these books at all, but I will keep a list here and on Goodreads (add me!). Stay tuned for the list!

If you want to sign up for this challenge, click here to go The Book Vixen's blog.

Gratitude Giveaway!

I am participating in the Gratitude Giveaway Blog Hop being run by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. This giveaway hop is designated "for our fabulous followers." There are a whopping 175 (approximately) blogs participating in this hop! CRAZINESS!



For this giveaway, I am giving 2 different prizes, meaning that 2 winners will be drawn using random.org.

Prize #1 - $15 Amazon email gift card.

Prize #2 - An ARC of Incarceron by Catherine Fisher.

How to enter: Comment on THIS POST ONLY with your email address and which prize you want, either the gift card or the book. You MUST be a follower, either through email or GFC, so please specify your means of following.



REMEMBER, your comment must include 3 things - email address, which prize you want, and how you follow.

A Very Worthy Campaign

click here for more details

2nd place!

a few weeks ago, i posted a photo of my best friend Caitlin on my main blog and entered it into a photography contest hosted by Allie and Amy. the contest was The Window to The Soul and the theme was Eyes....



i got 2nd place!!



i am going to be guest posting on Allie's blog (http://alliereid.blogspot.com/) soon, so stay tuned!

november 12 - csn gift card giveaway

Brandileigh over at Blkosiner's Book Blog is having a giveaway for a $35 csn gift card giveaway!

everyone knows how awesome csn is. you should definitely go over to her blog and enter! all you have to do is look at their HUGE selection of coffee tables and pick the one you like best.

my favorite is this one:



i can definitely imagine filling the side shelves with books of all sizes!

Book Review: Red Moon Rising

Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
Teen Wolf meets True Blood in this fun, boy-friendly story.

Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to the genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing.

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods. Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist.

But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms -- fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it's tempting to live in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence. There's only a month until the next full moon, and Danny's time is running out.

Peter Moore speaks to adolescents in a voice that will have them laughing, set in a world that will get them thinking..[Source]

I received this book for review through 1 ARC Tours. I chose to join this tour because I love fantasy novels and I love YA novels; plus, the theme of the novel seemed cool. Half vamp and half wulf? I figured, it's gotta be full of conflict.

And boy, was I right about that! Danny's got conflict with his mother and stepfather, and with his sisters, and with a cold-hearted teen vamp at school, not to mention the internal battles he fights as his symptoms get weirder and weirder. Any teen, male or female, will be able to relate to Danny. He's a great lead character, funny and honest, that I would love to see featured in more novels.

There was another major conflict: wulves vs vamps. This novel seems unique in that the wulves are considered criminals; they can only get low-paying jobs as laborers or servants. They are segregated in schools and in society. Besides the fact that they get sent to dangerous compounds once a month, this turmoil reminded me much of the 60's here in America, with the civil rights battles.

What I didn't like about this novel: Granted it was an ARC, but there was A LOT of grammar mistakes. The flow of the story worked for me, but the author seemed to put all of his creativity into the main plot, and none into character development, or even character names. Very few of the names were original or even pertinent.

I was also very disappointed by the ending. Gunther disappeared too easily, and there was no closure at all with Danny's situation (unless it was set up for a sequel). I also would have like to see a resolution between Danny and Julia.

Rating:

Book Review: Losing Faith

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden
A terrible secret. A terrible fate.

When Brie's sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie's world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don't know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but.

As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don't line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith's final night...a secret that puts her own life in danger.[Source]

I bought my own copy of this novel. I was nervous to read this book because I had read a review that included the word cult. I knew my whole opinion of the book would be forever tainted. Going into the book with just one word at the center of my mind meant that I was searching for the clues, just waiting for the cult to pop out. I think, at one point, I was trying to force the cult to form. I was seeing murder suspects in everyone, even Brie’s history teacher. It was sorta anticlimactic when the truth was revealed.

I liked Tessa a LOT. I think she is one of my favorite supporting characters in a YA adult novel. She was more developed as character than Brie was, and I was actually more interested in her than the truth about Faith. I could see a whole novel around Tessa… I would definitely read it!

I have to admit, I did not like Alis at all. He was so shady and secretive, and incredibly emotional. SO not my type. And not what I had imagined Brie’s type to be either. I guess that would be because Brie was a very confused teenager. Nonetheless, I could have done without him.

I have to give it to Denise Jaden for turning a NaNo novel into a YA bestseller. This trend is quickly catching on, and she did well to do it early on.

Rating:

Teaser Tuesday - November 9

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme,
hosted by Miz B at 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!

I am currently reading Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.

Here are my sentences:

"Ten to thirty percent," I corrected. "And I already told you - it cured Sam. It killed Jack."

"Jack is your brother?"

"Was, yeah."

Book Review: Hush Hush

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.[Source]

I bought my own copy of this novel.

This is the classic story of a boy and a girl who shouldn’t be in love, but they are. Add in the fact that the boy is a mythological creature and the girl is “different than other humans.” Stick them in a high school setting, take the girl’s parents away, and you’re done. Recipe for a YA bestseller.

I liked the fallen angel aspect, because that’s a true bad boy. Different than the vampires and werewolves that are popular lately. I didn’t get Patch’s motivations, ever. First, he wanted to kill Nora. Then, he wanted to save her. He didn’t want to save her, but he loved her, so he did anyway. Make up your mind, boy!

Nora was a great female lead. Strong, independent, albeit a bit stupid. The truth about Patch being a fallen angel was right there the whole time, but it took her WAY too long to figure it out. Open your eyes, girl!

Bit of a twist there at the end… Jules was in the background for the entire book. Without giving away the ending, I’ll just say that I just never expected what happened. Especially with Elliot.

I wish the conflict with Dabria had been played up a little more. I didn’t like how Patch just settled the whole issue and the reader gets left out of any struggle between the two. That’s one reason why I prefer third person point of view, even though first person brings you right into the action. See, the action in this book was a little lacking. I loved the whole “hide and seek in the school” bit, but the gym scene was a little boring.

Regardless, a great YA novel, and I am looking forward to reading the next one!

Rating:

upcoming events!!

i just wanted to remind everyone that i have 4 giveaways coming up in the next 4 months. they are all blog hops, which means that you get the opportunity to enter many giveaways all at the same time. check my right sidebar to see when the giveaways will start. you can click on each image to get more information, to see who is running the hop, and to sign up to host a giveaway.

here is a quick rundown of what's to come:

11/17 - Gratitude Giveaways
12/21 - Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop
1/3/11 - New Year's Reading Resolutions
2/14/11 - Books With Love Hop

november 4 - csn & book pack giveaway

TV and Book Addict is having a big giveaway to celebrate her second blogoversary! the grand prize is a $75 gift card for csn. 3 other winners will get their choice of a book pack. CLICK HERE to enter!

october 2010 photo hunt

CLICK HERE to see my october 2010 photo hunt photos!

In My Mailbox (103)

In My Mailbox is a meme run by The Story Siren. this is my first time linking up, but i just had to this week. i got a great little package in the mail from Lisa over at A Life Bound by Books.

i was the second winner of her ARC giveaway, so i got to pick 4 ARC's, and she also sent me some cute swag!

check it out:


i am UBER excited about reading Linger, because I don't like hardcover books, so i had resigned myself to waiting months for it to come out in paperback.

i am waiting for several more books to come in the mail, so that's all for today. but i hope i can link up to IMM more often!

Spooktacular Giveaway WINNER

the spooktacular giveaway has ended, thanks to everyone who entered! there were 216 comments, which equals 216 entries. i did have to delete anyone who commented but didn't leave their email address, with the exception of a select few who did have the common sense to tell me where to find their email address.

i'm sure you all want me to just shut up and say who won, right?

first, i want to remind you all of what you entered to win! that's pretty important.

it's a $15 amazon email gift card!

sweet.

okay, here's the winner.

according to random.org, comment #85 is the winner!



comment #85 was left by Pixel Berry Pie Designs! congrats to you! you've won a $15 amazon email gift card. i've emailed you; please respond within 48 hours or i will pick another winner.

to the other 215 people who didn't win, i'm sorry! i wish i could give you all gift cards, but then i wouldn't be able to afford my wedding next year.

i am participating in 2 more blog hop giveaways within the next few weeks, plus i am starting a little stack of books and swag to give away randomly. so stay tuned!