Aug 31, 2012

Intuition (Intangible 0.5) by J. Meyers

This was a short prequel to Intangible by J. Meyers. This is just a brief introduction to the two main characters in the book, Luke and Sera, while they take a hiking trip. Even though it was really short I really liked the fact that we get to see inside both of their heads, learn a few things about their powers and their family status, and even though I am sure they have so much more to offer I really enjoyed their characters. I love stories about twins. I can't wait to read more.

Oh, by the way, this is free right now on Amazon so you might want to check it out.

Aug 28, 2012

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins

In the last book of the Hex Hall series the story goes on right after Sophie tries to find her mother who is living with the Brannicks, where she discovers even more secrets about her family's past and who she is. One by one the people she is worried might be dead turn up to be okay, but before she even has any time to calm herself and make a plan to bring the Casnoffs down, she gets pulled back in Hex Hall, literally, and this time the school is nothing like it used to be.

Oh my, what an amazing ending to an awesome series. Loved loved loved it! The action, the sarcasm, the tears, the passions. I love this series to the end. I hate that it's over and I can't wait for the spin-off that I think it's going to be about Izzy Brannick, because there was oen thing about her and the dude in the mirror, Torin, mentioned in this book but it was left unsolved. So...fingers crossed.

Anyways, I don't think I can say much about this book cause I just finished it and I am left speecless and a bit breathless. I love the world Hawkins has created and Sophie, oh Sophie, how I love your snarky comments. You rock girl! I am not going to start another rant about how awesome the characters are, I think I did it with the two first books. I am just going to say that this book left me with the perfect bittersweet feeling and simply made me happy in the end.
★★★★★
book 41

Aug 26, 2012

Unpack This [Aug.13 - Aug.26]

Unpack This is a meme I started instead of my usual IMM. It was inspired by my love to open boxes, yes I love doing that.

I didn't do this meme last week so these are all the books I got the past couple of weeks. I am really excited for all of them.

Physical Books:
As you can see they are plenty.

Magician: This is the very first book in Feist's Riftwar Cycle. I've read it 6-7 years ago when I was 16 and I've been in love with his series ever since. I'm currently waiting for the final book in the whole series to get published in 2013. I thought I should start getting these books in English to fit the rest of the series, but the day I got this one I found out that the first four books of the series are getting re-printed and I am considering getting the new editions too.
Cheerleaders (#1, #3): As I've said in my last Unpack This post, I've only read Stine's Goosebumps and I really want to see what his other series are like. I only managed to find books 1 and 3 of the series though, I keeping an eye for book 2.

Dirty Blood: I won this one from a giveaway (can't remember which one). The book is signed and there was also a bookmark with it. I can't describe how excited I was when I opened this package. I already had Dirty Blood as an ebook but now that I also got it in print I can't wait to read it. Just moved up in my TBR list.
Angelfall: Everybody loved this book. Everybody told me how amazing it is, so I had to have it. I hope it lives up to the expectetions.

This is the dedication inside Dirty Blood. I loved the quote. It's so true and it makes me really curious about the book.

Forever: This is the third book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. I've only read the first one so far but now that I have this one I can finally read the second book. I always want to have the sequel before starting something if possible.
Dark Lover: I got this book because of Martina over at http://martinabookaholic.wordpress.com/. We were talking about how I recently read First Grave on the Right and it was probably my first adult book and then she went all "crazy" about the Black Dagger Brotherhood books and I was so curious I immediately bought the first book. I hope she is right or else...kidding...or not.
Hunting Lila: I didn't have this on my TBR list until recently when I saw a couple of posts about the sequel and then read the blurb of this one and saw a few grear reviews. So yeah I got this one too. I can't help it when I find cheap second hand books. It's a disease.

Night School: This one had a prize drop on the book depository and that's how it ended up on my shelves. Yes, I want to read it but it's not on my immediate TBR list.
Throne of Glass: I had to have this. I am crazy about the prequels of Throne of Glass, I can only imagine how much I am going to love this. Only one prequel to go and then I can read the actual book.

Girl of Nightmares: I had this one on pre-order. After reading Anna Dressed in Blood a few months ago I've been dying to get the sequel. Isn't the cover amazing. Annaaaaaaaa...I'll dive into it after I am done with a couple of review books I've had lining up.
Kill me Softly: This one looks so cute. I'm glad I got the hardback it looks so good and I've only heard good things about it so I know I am going to love it. I love fairy tale retellings.

E-Books:
Fearless: I jsut finished reading Storm and Elemental and I had to have more of the Merrick boys. I am currently reading this one. It's so good to see Hunter before everything went south for him. I need to order Spark soon.
The Shadow Society: I got this one from Netgalley. It seems really interesting and I love this cover so much. Can't wait to read and review it.

What did you Unpack this week?

Elemental & Fearless by Brigid Kemmerer

Elemental (Elemental #0.5)
by Brigid Kemmerer

This is a short story before Storm, that lets us into the head of Michael Merrick. We finally learn a few more things about his personality and how it was for him growing up with everyone wanting him dead. Also we learn how he met Emily, Tyler's sister and another Elemental. It's kind of a Romeo & Juliet story, with two fighting families and their kids falling for each other. And unfortunatelly the story doesn't end well either. In the prequel we don't get to see that, but I've just finished reading Storm and I know what's going to happen. It made the last few sentences of this story really sad.
★★★★☆

Fearless (Elemental #1.5) 
by Brigid Kemmerer

Fearless is the background story of Hunter, before he moved and before his life went south. Or at least before the accident that killed his father and uncle, cause let me tell you his life was far from perfect. His house was like a military base, every little thing that Hunter did was for training, even things that didn't seem like it. And I understand that his father probably only wanted to make him strong so he can protect himself and get him ready for being a Guide, but it was a little bit too much. But after reading this I understand that why Hunter acts like that in Storm and I feel like he is just really confused, but now I actually like him so much more than before.
★★★★☆

Aug 25, 2012

Storm (Elemental #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

There are no words to describe how much I loved this book. But I will try to find them anyways...

Storm introduces us to the Merrick Brothers, I am sure everyone will just fall in love with them from the beginning, and Becca a girl that happens to save one of them one night. After that Becca's life gets more and more mixed up with theirs. She finds out that they are Elementals, each one has an element power, and that the Guides are coming after them, probably to kill them. But the Merrick boys are not the only new guys in Becca's life, Hunter, the New Kid, seems to have taken an interest in her too and he is hiding more secrets than she could have imagined.

I love this book. I love it. This book was all about the characters, these amazing, alive, unique characters. 

Michael, Nick, Gabriel and Chirs, the four Merrick brothers, had found their way into my heart. They are so different yet all of them so perfect, in their own way. Michael, the protective, oldest brother, that ends up with the responsibility to take care of his brothers after their parents' death. You can actually feel the weight on his shoulders. Then come the twins, Gabriel and Nick, they are like the exact opposites. Gabriel is wild, always looking for ways to have fun, his love of life just draws you in. Nick is the smart, more calm twin, always there to help his brother and bring peace to anyones temper. Finally, Chris, the youngest of them all, mysterious and caring, a little bit overshadowed by his older brothers, but with so much more power than he realizes. 

But besides the awesome brothers, this book has an amazing kick-ass heroine, Becca. Even though she thinks she not all that, she is truly extraordinary. She is brave and caring and always helping others. She is also trying to keep a normal life besides the hideous things that happened to her. When I learned what some kids had done to her I was sick to my stomach. She has more strength than I originally thought and I can't help but love her for that. And finally there's Hunter. Although I loved the scenes where he was alone with Becca, he was never one of my favorites. Compared to the Merrick boys he just doesn't measure up for me. But I think the more I learn about him the more I like him.

I know I've said a lot about the characters but I think that's the life of the book, the heart of it. Besides them the story was pretty amazing too. There was a lot of action, and elemental power, which I love. And even though I had figured out everything before the characters I didn't mind it at all. There were so many things that happened on the past that affected the present, and I always love how that happens in books, how every characters has their own story, and is being haunted by their past.

This book was simply amazing.
★★★★★
book 40
book 12

Aug 24, 2012

Cover Reveal: Bewitched by Cambria Hebert


Bewitched (Heven and Hell #2.5)
by Cambria Hebert

Release date: October 5, 2012

Blurb:
For years, I accepted that Heven was more popular than me. I never liked it but I lived with it. I walked in her shadow, I stood by her when no one else would. When I finally thought her spotlight was mine things began to change. She began to change. Now she hardly ever calls me back, she spends all her time with her hot new boyfriend and everyone at school thinks she’s back on top. She had it all. But apparently she wants more. She wants Cole – my boyfriend. What’s worse is that it looks like she got him. I’ve had enough and she’s going to be sorry. Why?

Because I am bewitched.

Bewitched Excerpt

Bewitched Trailer

Ok, so these are all the Bewitched material I had to reveal. I can't begin to explain how excited I am for this new novella in the Heven and Hell Series. I love the series and even though Kimber is not a fav of mine, I adore witches and most of of wicked witches, and she is one of them, or well, she is about to be.

What do you think abou the cover? It's one of my favorites from the whole series.

Aug 23, 2012

First Grave on the Right Final Week

Last week of the read-along for First Grave on the Right. Boo hoo...I loved this books and the read-along questions, so fun to write the post each week. Anyways, time for the last set of  Q & A.

1. One of my favorite aspects of this book are the witty snippets at the beginning of every chapter. I especially like the t shirt quotes. My favorites are:
Jenius
Sarcasm. Only one of the services offered.
Do not disturb. Already there.
What is the funniest t-shirt or bumper sticker you have encountered? What t-shirt saying best describes your personality? 

So, I browsed around the internet and found a few funny quotes that I loved.
The last two are what describes me the best. ;)

2. Charley is constantly helping ghosts throughout the book. Would you like to be able to talk to ghosts and bring closure to their loved ones? How would you feel about all the ghosts popping up at all times day or night? Would you like to have a ghost like Mr. Wong in your house? 
Maybe it would be fun and make me feel good to help a ghost or two, but if it was happening all the freaking time I would be out of my mind. It's exhausting. I wouldn't want them popping up at my house, I don't think I would be able to take a bath ever again. And no creepy Mr. Wongs for me, thanks but no thanks.

3. Kim reveals some rather shocking and sad details about Reyes' past. Do you agree with her decision to adhere to her promise and not intervene? Would you be willing to keep your word and let a loved one die if it was their wish? 
I don't think so. I try not to intervene with other people's lifes, let them learn from their own mistakes and all that, and I expect them to do the same. But when I know that something has to be done, I don't care about the consequences I will do it, even if it would mean that they will get mad or stop talking to me. So when it's something like what Reyes was going though I would definitely help him. He'd probably be mad but at least he'd be alive.

4. In Chapter 19 Charley confronts the bad guy and finds herself in yet another situation where she gets her ass kicked. Do you like the fact that Charley consistently ends up getting her butt handed to her? What are your overall thoughts on Charley? 
I actually love that even though she is a kick-ass heroine she always ends up getting her own ass kicked. It goes to show that she is not a superhuman physically which is normal, I mean she is just one girl, she can't kick everyone's butt, right? Overall, I love Charley.

5. Chapter 20 is a big, hot, smoking chapter. We finally get some answers on Reyes. Does the revelation change your opinion of him? Do you think he can overcome his "nature" and be a good person or is Charley in big trouble?
Well, Charley is in big trouble but that isn't necessarily bad. Besides, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. The last few chapters changed my mind about Reyes but in a good way. I didn't like him at the beginning but now I do, so so so so much.

6. Did you enjoy this book? Will you be continuing the series?
Hell, yeah! As simple as that. :)

And that was the end of a great read-along. But...there's more. There will another read-along for Charade by Cambria Hebert, the second book in the Heven and Hell series. I will be one of the hosts. It will be in November so you have plenty of time to read Masquerade, book one, until then and get ready for Charade. Trust me these books are great. Click the image below for more info.

Aug 22, 2012

Feed Your Reader Giveaway Hop

The Feed Your Reader Giveaway Hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Books: A True Story.

This is an e-book giveaway obviously and when I first signed up I thought of all the great indie books I own or want to get for my kindle, but then I realised that just cause it's an e-book giveaway it doesn't mean it has to be an indie book. So, I sat down and gathered all the non-indie books or netgalleys I have on my kindle. Believe me when I say, they are not many. So I picked half of them for this giveaway.

One of you will win one of the e-books below 
(gifted through amazon)
You don't need a kindle to read them, there are all these free kinlde apps that amazon offers.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now Hop one to the next Host

Aug 21, 2012

Book Spotlight: Forged By Greed

Today I am spotlighting an upcoming novel by Angela Orlowski-Peart titled Forged By Greed. I will be reviewing this book soon so stay tuned for my thoughts on it.

Forged By Greed
by Angela Orlowski Peart

Their choice had been taken away long before they were born.

Two Seattle 16-year-old Shape Shifters, Jatred and Jasmira, are torn between following their hearts and protecting the order of the world.

The ancient Shape Shifter Races—the Winter wolves and the Summer leopards—exist on Earth, living among humans and perfectly fitting into modern life. Their secret societies are organized, each united by their own laws and traditions.

Two Goddesses, Crystal and Amber command their respective Races. One is on a quest to tilt the scale of power to her side. The other will never let it happen, even if it means sacrificing Jatred and Jasmira’s love.

The Amulet commissioned to bring stability into the world remains hidden and concealed with the help of advanced technology. Jatred is the guardian of the Amulet and key to the Goddesses’ conflict.

The forces of nature are disrupted. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions rake the world. The Goddesses go to war and summon all their Shifters to join in the conflict. Jatred and Jasmira fight not only for their star-crossed love but to protect the future of both Races and humankind.
Excerpt:

About the Auhtor:

Angela Orlowski-Peart was born and raised in Poland. She describes herself as European born, American by choice. She was just seven-years-old when she decided to learn English to translate her favorite Polish fairytales.

Angela is a Young Adult and Adult fiction writer. She completed her first YA paranormal romance novel, Forged by Greed, which is scheduled for publication on September 20, 2012. This is the first book in The Forged Series. Angela writes in multiple genres, including paranormal, fantasy, urban fiction, sci-fi, and short stories. She is a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Western Washington Chapter (http://www.scbwi.org), and several authors’ and readers’ networking groups on Linkedin and Goodreads.

Angela loves reading good books almost as much as writing them. She can’t decide which is her favorite season—summer or fall. She speaks with Polish accent, but loves listening to the Southern drawl.
She is passionate about watercolor painting, fashion—especially stilettos, rock climbing, environment, and organic food and gardening. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband, two children, and a very independent and chronically curious cat.

Find Angela

Aug 20, 2012

Sit Down and Write: Goals Post

The Sit Down and Write write-a-thon begins today and guess what I haven't written a single line so far, but I will. I WILL. Probably late at night, that's when I usually sit down and write.

My Goals:
I've been working on a novel for the past few months and I've been making some great progress lately, so I want to keep on going. I've been thinking that hopefully by the end of the read-a-thon I will write at least 28.000 more words. This is 4000 words/day, which for me is close to a couple of chapters. There is the word counter at the left sidebar where I will be updating my progress daily. So that's pretty much it.

Wish me luck

Bout of Books 5.0 Read-a-thon Wrap-Up

It's the end of the boou of books read-a-thon. I am so glad I signed up for this one cause between this and the Summer Wrap-Up read-a-thon I got a lot of reading done. Now I can sit back and relax a little bit and start studying again.

My Goals:
I was planning on reading 4 books or 1000 pages. Unfortunatelly that did not happen. I am currently reading the 4th read-a-thon book and I managed to read 938 pages in total, close enough. That was mostly because I didn't enjoy one of books I picked and it kept me back a little bit, but I stuck with it and managed to finish it, which is a good thing. And it's still better than bout of books 4.0

What I read:

and I am currently reading

My Updates:

8/13
Which of the books I’ve read from today: 
Beter Late Than Never
Number of pages I've read today: 150
Total number of books I’ve finished: 0
Total number of pages I've read: 150
Reviews: -

8/14
Which of the books I’ve read from today: 
Better Late Then Never, Here Today Gone Tomorrow
Number of pages I've read today: 246
Total number of books I’ve finished: 1
Total number of pages I've read: 396
Reviews: Better Late Then Never

8/15
Which of the books I’ve read from today: Here Today Gone Tomorrow, Blackwood
Number of pages I've read today: 114
Total number of books I’ve finished: 2
Total number of pages I've read: 510
Reviews: Better Late Then NeverHere Today Gone Tomorrow

8/16
Which of the books I’ve read from today: Blackwood
Number of pages I've read today: 153
Total number of books I’ve finished: 2
Total number of pages I've read: 663
Reviews: Better Late Then NeverHere Today Gone Tomorrow

8/17
Which of the books I’ve read from today: Blackwood
Number of pages I've read today: 46
Total number of books I’ve finished: 2
Total number of pages I've read: 709
Reviews: Better Late Then NeverHere Today Gone Tomorrow

8/18
Which of the books I’ve read from today: Blackwood
Number of pages I've read today: 154
Total number of books I’ve finished: 3
Total number of pages I've read: 863
Reviews: Better Late Then NeverHere Today Gone TomorrowBlackwood

8/19
Which of the books I’ve read from today: 
Storm
Number of pages I've read today: 75
Total number of books I’ve finished: 3
Total number of pages I've read: 938
Reviews: Better Late Then NeverHere Today Gone TomorrowBlackwood

Bout of Books 5.0 Day 7

Last Day of the read-a-thon is over. Boo hoo...well no I am not that sad cause I need to get back to studying, but I had so much fun during it. So here's my last update. There will also be a wrap up post.

I am reading:
I reached page 75. This book is bigger than it seems, but I am glad about that cause I love it. And the Merrick Brothers OMG! They are awesome. I must have been laughing all last night while I was reading.

Pages Read Today:
75

Aug 19, 2012

Author Spotlight: Ellie Rose McKee

Today I am welcoming Ellie Rose McKee, author of Still Dreaming for an interview. Enjoy...

Ellie Rose McKee is a Northern Irish born Author and Poet. She has lived in England on and off for the past 5 years and has a great love of art and photography. When not travelling or writing Ellie spends her time making YouTube Videos and training to be a Children’s and Youth Worker.

1. Let's begin with your book, can you tell us a few things about Still Dreaming?
Still Dreaming is the 1st collection of poetry and short stories I released, in May of this year. It includes some haiku and experimental fiction. I self published it, for international availability via Amazon (for Kindle), Gumroad (as a PDF) and Lulu (as an ePub and in Paperback).

The sequel, WAKE is due for release on September 28th 2012.

2. What triggered the idea of it?
I had built up a lot of shorter ‘works’ since I first started writing, many years ago, and wanted to do them justice instead of having them waste away on my hard drive. I also wanted to put together my work as a kind of portfolio, so I could showcase it to agents and/or publishers when the time comes to pitch my novel.

3. Where do you usually draw inspiration from?
I rarely set out to intentionally find inspiration. Often it just falls in my lap – triggered by a series of the most random thoughts. Writers block is not something I’ve ever experienced but sometimes having more ideas than hours in the day to write them down can be just as frustrating.

4. Do you have a specific writing progress you follow?
I’ll have an idea, sit down at my laptop and throw bits and pieces at Microsoft Word so I don’t forget anything I’ve come up with so far. Then I go back and fill in the gaps, rearrange paragraphs, read through about 5 times and then decide what to do with what I’ve created.

If I’m out, and nowhere near my laptop, I’ll write the idea(s) in a notepad and then add it to an Excel spreadsheet when I get home (more information about how I use spreadsheets in my writing process is on my blog- see here).

5. What do you think it's the best and what's the worst thing about being a writer?
You have the ability to create something you love and release it into the world – that’s a fantastic feeling! Unfortunately, however, some people do not respect the creative process – especially if you’re working from home. My family, for example, are either criticising me for spending too much time on the computer or asking me why my novel isn’t finished yet. It can be frustrating to say the least.

6. Do you have any tips for new writers?
As ironic as this may be - be careful whose advice you listen to. Do a lot of research and do not go searching for short cuts because most of the time, they’ll only set you back.

7. What should we expect from you in the future?
I’m currently finishing my first novel, a young adult dystopian romance entitled Rising from Ashes.

Where you can find Ellie Rose

Places to buy Still Dreaming

There is a giveaway running right now on Ellie's site so go enter to win Still Dreaming: 

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

Miranda Blackwood's family is cursed, has been ever since the first Blackwood set foot on the island and ever since none of them can leave. But that's not the only secret of the island. Years ago, when the first colonists arrived, all 114 of them went missing. Vanished. Just like that. Never to be heard from again. One day, Miranda wakes up to find 114 people from her town has gone missing too and her dad has been murdered. Together with Phillips, a boy who left the islang years ago, only to come back again to save it, they will try to figure out where the missing people are, and how both their families are tied to the mystery.

I was really excited to start reading this book. It seem like a good mix of history and mystery, but it ended up disappointing me. The characters, Miranda and Phillips were never that likeable, especially Miranda. I just didn't really understand their actions sometimes, they seemed like two kids running aimlessly around a tiny island. They weren't getting any closer in figuring out the mystery or their own family secrets. It all just fell right into the lap at the end.

The story started out good, with the people gone missing and Miranda's dad dead. But then Phillips arrived and he started hanging out with her and mystery fell on the background, and then...poof...the people are back, but not really. I still want to know where their bodies went while missing. Anyways after that, it was all downhill for me. Not much action, besides a chapter at the end. A lot of things happened that I felt were just there so the author would have something more to right about. This could be so much shorter and action packed but it wasn't. So not really something I would recommend.
★★☆☆☆
book 35             book 39
book 11
book 3