Top 5 Sundays (8)

Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme chosen (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention Larissa's blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image.
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments on her blog.

This week's theme: Best Books {Series} of 2010

This is the 2nd book in the series and I love the whole story!

Alright, so I haven't read this book yet. But I loved the first one and know I'd love this one!

The last book in Ellen Hopkins Crank series. I love her writing and her books always make me so emotional and I have to stay up all night to finish them. :-)

If you read my review, you know I loved this book and I'm so excited for the rest of the books in the series!

The last book(ahhhh!) in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy Series. I've had it since the day it came out but I can't get myself to read it. I don't want it to be over!

Song Stuck In My Head Saturday (8)

Unfortunately for me, this week's song is one I don't like. I hate it when that happens. Of course, I have other songs stuck in my head but the bad ones always overpower the ones you like. So this week's song is No One by Alicia Keys. I don't dislike all of her songs but she and John Legend just annoy me sometimes. I don't know why. Though, no doubt, they're still good artists.

Newbie Blog Hop for new (and not so new) bloggers!

This Hop runs from Dec, 10th to the 31st and is hosted by Lazy Girl Reads! I think this is a great Hop for bloggers who are new to the world of blogging. I've been blogging for about 10 months but I only really started being committed to it about 6 months ago.

What's your favorite feature of online book blogging?: My favorite feature of blogging so far are the contests. I love re-create a cver contests because they're really fun, even though I may not always have the best covers because I'm not too saavy with the computer image shtuff.

This challenge, hosted by Lazy Girl Reads, goes from Jan. 1st 2011- Apr. 1st 2011

Rules: Choose 4 books according to the following guidelines:

1. Something old

2. Something new

3. Something borrowed

4. Something blue

What number challenge is this for me? 97? I don't know but I couldn't pass it up because it's so original!

1. I know I'm reading My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent

2. I'm thinking one of the books I'm getting for Christmas...I gave my aunt a list so I don't know which ones she's getting :-(

3. I've been planning on borrowing Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler from my friends

4. I'm gonna try to read A Blue So Dark! It's a double whammy with a blue cover and blue in the name!

 

Book Chick City is hosting this giveaway in which the goal is to read a minimum of 12 thriller/suspense novels in 2011. I'm honestly most excited about this challenge than any others because Thrillers are my newest favorite genre of books! You should go participate and if you do you'll get an ARC of The Survivor by Sean Slater courtesy of Simon & Schuster  UK!! That's one book down and  11 to go!!

 

I'm not sure of which books I'll be reading but I'll let you know when I do my reviews!

Book Blogger Hop: December 17-20

So this week's question comes from Alex of Geek on the Brink: What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?

Ooh. I like this question! Let's see...I think the characters are a lot more important because even if there's a bad storyline the characters make it better. But if there's bad characters and a good storyline, i.e. Fallen by Lauren Kate-sorry, had to say it-, then you finish the book wishing it was better.

Can't wait 'til next weeks' hop!!!

Kimberly Derting's HUGEEEEEEEEEE Contest!!!!! GO GO GO!

Ok, so Kim is having an amazng contest on her blog to celebrate the Desires of the Dead widget!!! It's so amazing and the widget is gorgeous so why wouldn't you want it on your blog? Here are the amazing prizes!!:

FIRST PRIZE: A signed ARC of DESIRES OF THE DEAD, a signed copy of THE BODY FINDER, and a complete Desires of the Dead swag pack (including a signed DotD poster, bookmarks, stickers, rubber bracelets, and buttons).

SECOND PRIZE: A signed copy of THE BODY FINDER, an ARC of UNEARTHLY, and a complete DotD swag pack.

THIRD PRIZE: An ARC of THROUGH HER EYES, a $15 gift card to the online bookseller of your choice, and a complete DotD swag pack.

If you ask me, all these prizes are great and I'd be so excited to win any of them! Go enter. Now!

Is it Just Me Or...?

Is it just me or are there a lot less posts being made? I'm blaming it on the holidays but has anyone else noticed this? I feel like I've been posting a lot when I usually feel behing because other blogs post more than me. Am I right or just delusional?

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder Review

From Goodreads: Restless souls and empty hearts


Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.


Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages, telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.


As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.


Rating: 4.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4.5/5

Ending: 4/5

My blog should be named The girl who loves sad, emotional books! because they really are my cup of tea. Most people who've heard about this book have read Lisa Schroeder's companion-like book, which is on the same topic: loved ones dying. I'm a very sensitive person so I cried at least 3 times while reading and just thinking about this book. But don't let that turn you off! It's not just a book about the sadness of dying but also dealing with death and finding happiness.

This story was so sad and heartbreaking. I cannot imagine what any of these characters went through when Lucca died. I found it hard to relate to the characters only because I haven't experienced death when the person was someone I was truly close to. I did, though, understand the feelings of the characters. I think I like novels written in verse better than the normal, story writing because they somehow evooke more emotion, Saying that, Lisa's writng was so wonderful and I cannot wait to read her other books!

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer Review

From Goodreads: Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Rating: 4.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4.5/5

Ending: 4/5

There's been so much buzz about Nightshade around the blogosphere that I was honestly a little turned off by it. I thought it was just some cliché, Twilight-like book that was way too long. Seriously, how thick is it, right? Anyway, I was so wrong!! Nightshade is now one of my favorite books! Andrea Cremer wrote a superb novel and it was different and new. I loved her characters and the whole story scheme. It was so good!

Characters like Calla are becoming very common in YA books nowadays but I thought she still had her own thing going on. She's strong but also can submit to her sensitive, feminine side; which I haven't seen in a lot of books. And, oh, the love triangle…I loved it. It kept me entertained and made the book very sexy. I’m a mature teen so I was glad that, unlike most books, the author pretended like teens don’t know a lot about sex. (For anyone who hasn’t read the book, there is NO sex!)

There’s nothing that I didn’t like about this book. I wasn’t annoyed or bothered; which, believe me, is not something that usually happens. Every page held me and I was not disappointed.

Torn (Trylle Trilogy #2) by Amanda Hocking Review

From Goodreads: Wendy thought she finally understood who she was and what she wanted, but everything changes when the rival Vittra come after her.

She's caught between two worlds, torn between love and duty, and she must decide what life she is meant to lead.

Rating: 4.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4.5/5

Ending: 4/5

If you read my review of Switched, it should be no surprise that I also loved Torn. Amanda Hocking keeps jumping up my list of favorite authors. The world she creats is so complex but also simple, just like her writing.

In the second book in the series, Wendy is learning more about the trylle world and her family secrets. As if her secret family history isn't enough to deal with, she's forced back into her complex raleationship with Finn and struggles to find out where she belongs. Torn picks up exactly where Switched left off. Wendy and Rhys are visitng Matt and Wendy naively believes they'll be able to stay with no problems. I just laugh when she thinks like that! If I were her, I'd want people following me everywhere I go, especially if I had family surrounding me.

I loved this book but I though t was more like a mini-story. I think it was a little too short to be a whole book. The ending was good and very intriguing but my mind kept thinking there should me more coming. Overall though, I loved this book and Amanda Hocking is a fantastic writer! I mean, did you notice how many times I wrote "I loved..."? Really now...!

Top 5 Sundays (7)

Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme chosen (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention Larissa's blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments on her blog.

This week's theme is: Books YOU Want For Xmas!



The Body Finder was one of the my favorite books of 2010 and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

There's no cover yet for Succubus Revealed so I just have a picture of the lovely Richelle Mead.  I need some more Georgina and Seth and Roman!

Thanks Larissa for introducing me to this series! I looked it up on Goodreads and want to read it. Bad!

I loved the first 2 books in the series and for some reason never got around to buying the 3rd book so it'd be amazing to get this book for Christmas!

This book is my kind of book. It's a hard topic and very emotional.

This was a good Top 5 Sunday! I love this meme and want to thank Larissa for hosting it.

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Can I mention how awesomely pretty this button is?

Yay! It's sign-up tme for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge! The challenge is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and is an awesome incentive for readers to read debut author's YA and MG novels. I was so excited about the 2010 challenge and actually won the October month! It was so exciting to win and have people come visit my blog and read my review.

Join here!

The Book Vixen has created a challenge about something I've always wondered about! I love the YA books these days but always wondered what my mom and aunts read when they were teens. And this challenege is designed for that. From January 2011 to December 2011 you try to read as many YA books of the 80s and 90s as you can and/or want. I honestly don't have a lst of what I want to read so I think I'm just gonna go along and see what happens. I'm gonna have a goal of at leats one a month though. I think I might ahve read 3 books from the 90s. It was when  first got into reading and had to borrow old books from my aunt's basement.

I hope others join in at The Book Vixen! Have fun!

2011 Show Me The Free Challenge

This is lke the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Here is how it works:

•Should you choose to participate in this challenge, your goal is to read at least twelve (12) legally obtained e-books which you got for FREE for your e-reading device. While twelve is the minimum there is no maximum limit.
•Anyone can join. You don't have to be a blogger, and you don't have to live in the United States.
•Any E-Reader will work for this challenge, including: iPad, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony Reader, enTourage.
•Please Note: If you don't have an e-reading device, you can still join in with Amazon's Free Kindle Reading Apps which you can download for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, Blackberry and more.
•The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. You can join at anytime.
•e-books in ANY genre count for this challenge as long as it was FREE at the time that you downloaded it.
•Every month in 2011, I will make a post for the Show Me The Free Reading Challenge so you can link your reviews.
•Those that link their reviews will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a different prize each month, such as an Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card, a bookmark, or a GelaSkins for your E-Reader. Winners will be announced at the end of each month.

Challenge Guidelines:
•If you blog, create a post announcing your participation in the challenge. Please include a link back to this post.
•Non blogger must publish reviews on some type of public domain such as Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble to enter the monthly giveaway.
•When you post your book review, you MUST say how you obtained the free read. Please make your source clear.
•You can list your books in advance or list them as you read them.
•Crossovers to other reading challenges is acceptable, but galley e-books DO NOT count. Again, this is a Reading Challenge to read as many of the FREE e-books legally offered for your e-reader. To get started, check out the Top 100 Free books on Amazon, or the Free e-books on Barnes & Noble.
•Any linked reviews that do not meet the guidelines will not be entered into the monthly drawing for the prize of the month.

Levels:
Coupon Clipper: 12 Books
Penny Pincher: 24 Books
Super Saver: 30+ Books


This is exactly the kind of challenge I'm in need of! I don't know how many free books I have on my Kindle just waiting to be read and reviewed! You can come and join too!

Richelle Mead Signing!!!!

 December 8th. 2010. Something amazing happened. Richelle Mead came to Doylestown! I live about 15-20 minutes away and my dad, twin brother, and grandmother actually live in Doylestown so I was os freakin excited when I saw on Richelle's blog that she was coming to the Mercer Museum. I had such an awesome time. After the signing I took my friends to the best library ever, right across the street!, the Doylestown Library. It was probably one of the best nights of my teen life-so far, at least. :-)

The wonderful, gorgeous Mercer Museum where I took my 5th Grade Field Trip and the signing was alos held. It was hosted by The Doylestown Bookshop. A place I frequently shop at and love!

I was having such a good time tlaking to Richelle. I asked her what Team she was on- Adrian or Dmirtri- and she told me I ahd to finish the book to know. I asked her how she felt about my friend and I, and other teens, who read her adult series. She told me, and I love this because most adults don't agree, that she read mature books as a teen and it's fine with her. How cool is that??? But then as soon as we got the picture-taking time, I got so nervous that I couldn;t smile or else I probably would've passed out! :-P

very nice pic of me I think.....yh right...

This really cool lady was stationed at a table giving people temporary tattoss; and surprisingly, there was no one going to the table. SO I dragged my friend up there wiht me and we got some tats!! Here's the molijna mark and then the VA sign on my hand!

Richelle read a great excerpt, not that any would be bad, and she had us all laughing. She's so funny and personable and I love her midwestern accent! We could also ask questions and I think we had some really great ones. Richelle enlightened us about the VA movie. She said authors don't usually get much input in the productions of the movies but she trusts the company who she sold the rights to. She also said just because thye were bought, it doesn't mean that it will actually be made into a movie. It's just a possibility. We also found out, and it's true!, that the 3rd book in all her series are always the most emotional. I ahd a ton of fun there!

Waiting in a long line. Although, because I pre-ordered my book with The Doylestown Bookshop I got a bracelet that let me into the room early, where I got a 4th row seat, and got to get in line early also. Condidering there were at least 8-9 rows and people standing up all around the room, I wasn't in a bad spot!

My wonderful signed book! We were allowed 3 signed books and 1 that could be personalized.

The awesome, cool, funny, amazing, I wish I was friends with her lady who did the tattoos gave us a whole pack of them! How nice of her?? It was just an amazing night!

If I can get Richelle Mead to read this, I would be so happy! Because in all my excitement I forgot to ask her a queston: Does she think the girl on the original Vampire Academy novel looks like Angelina Jolie? Is it Angelina Jolie?

In My Mailbox (4)

This wonderful meme is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. I've sadly been neglecting this meme and I have so many pics of books to put up that I'm just going to actually mention books from the past 2 weeks. Here goes:

For review:
Hating Olivia by Mark SaFranko (Harper Perrenial)

Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield
Call Me Mimi by Francis Chalifour
 Folly by Marthe Jocelyn
Avalanche Dance by Ellen Schwartz
No One Must Know by Eva Wiseman
Toxic Love by Linda Holeman
Lucy Unstrung by Carole Lazar
would you by Marthe Jocelyn
Stained Glass by Michael Bedard

Won:
Hero by Mark Lupica
Unraveled by Gena Showalter
Party by Tom Leveen
Invisible Girl by Mary Hanlon Stone
God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein
The Best and Hardest Thing by Pat Brisson
Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden

Library(my dream house):

too many....
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Bought:
Fallout by Ellen Hopkins