Saturday 30 April 2011

On My Wishlist #22

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I want but haven't haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. If you want to know more click here.


He's looking at me like—well, like he wants to look at me.
Like he likes what he sees, and he's smiling and his eyes are so blue, even in the faint flow of the porch light they shine, and I nod dumbly, blindly, and then grope for the door handle, telling myself to look away and yet not able to do it.

"Sara," he says, softly, almost hesitantly, and my heart slam-bangs, beating hard, and this is what it's like to want someone you can't have. To want someone you shouldn't even be looking at.


Clara's relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it's almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he's willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won't let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....


 

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....


Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she's got them all beat.
Her dad made a fortune showcasing photos of pretty girls and his party lifestyle all over the Internet, and her mom was once one of her dad's 'girlfriends' and is now the star of her own website.
After getting the wrong kind of attention for way too long, Hannah has mastered the art of staying under the radar . . . and that's just how she likes it. Of course, that doesn't help her get noticed by her crush. Hannah's sure that gorgeous, sensitive Josh is her soul mate. But trying to get him to notice her; wondering why she suddenly can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn; and dealing with her parents make Hannah feel like she's going crazy. Yet she's determined to make things work out the way she wants only what she wants may not be what she needs. . . .
Once again, Elizabeth Scott has created a world so painfully funny and a cast of characters so heartbreakingly real that you'll love being a part of it from unexpected start to triumphant finish.


 Kate Brown's life has gone downhill fast. Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate's invisible. And then there's Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can't stand even though she can't stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she's sure she's just his latest conquest. Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn't realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen -- but only if she lets them....


So that’s what’s on my wishlist this week!

Happy reading!

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Friday 29 April 2011

Review: Invincible Summer

Title: Invincible Summer

Author: Hannah Moskowitz

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication date: April 19th 2011

Book source: Galley Grab

My rating: 8/10

Buy the book

Author: Website|Blog|Twitter


Summary:

Noah’s happier than I’ve seen him in months. So I’d be an awful brother to get in the way of that. It’s not like I have some relationship with Melinda. It was just a kiss. Am I going to ruin Noah’s happiness because of a kiss?


Across four sun-kissed, drama-drenched summers at his family’s beach house, Chase is falling in love, falling in lust, and trying to keep his life from falling apart. But some girls are addictive....


Not your typical beach read.


My thoughts:

I really loved this read.

It definitely was not what I was expecting. Especially the writing by Hannah Moskowitz. It was really, really well written.

I expected the typical summer romance between the protagonist and a girl he met somewhere along the way and then they fell in love and whatnot. But no, it was so much more.

It was definitely an emotional read. I cried more than once I have to tell you!

What I really loved though, is how thought-provoking it was. As the characters developed – which they did really well – they learnt things about themselves and about life in general which I felt like I was learning right along with them without actually experiencing what happens in the book.

Back to the writing though, it was absolutely breathtaking. It added to everything that happens in the plot and it has such a blunt feel to it that it made the read really realistic and relatable.

I loved the characters in Invincible Summers too. They all had their own distinct personalities, their own way of thinking, their own traits. They were all likeable in their own way. Especially Gideon, Chase’s deaf younger brother. Seriously fell in love with him!

This is definitely ‘not your typical beach read’. The summary is sort of misleading I guess. It sort of doesn’t do the book justice.

All in all though, Invincible Summers is a brilliant read that I more than recommend. Please go out and get it!!!


About the author:

 Hannah Moskowitz wrote her first story, about a kitten named Lilly on the run from cat hunters, for a contest when she was seven years old. She was disqualified, as her story was dubbed too violent. Her first book, BREAK, was on the ALA's 2010 list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. She is a student at The University of Maryland.

 


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Thursday 28 April 2011

Review: My Sparkling Misfortune

Title: My Sparkling Misfortune

Author: Laura Lond

Publisher: Dream Books LLC

Publication date: April 28th 2010

Book source: Received from author

My rating: 6/10 – good read

Buy the book


Summary:

Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle readily admits that he is a villain and sees no reason why it should stop him from being the protagonist of this book. After all, Prince Kellemar, an aspiring hero, has defeated him in a rather questionable way. Bent on revenge, Arkus attempts to capture a powerful evil spirit who would make him nearly invincible, but a last-minute mistake leaves him with a sparkling instead a goody-goody spirit that helps heroes, watches over little children, and messes up villains plans. Bound to Lord Arkus for five years of service and sworn to act in his best interests, the sparkling is not easy to get rid of, and of course his understanding of best interests is quite different from what Lord Arkus has in mind.


My thoughts:

As soon as I started reading this I knew it was going to be a fun read.

It was one of those reads that is amusing and makes you smile no matter how cheesy it can get. It’s all part of the charm.

It was also original. You don’t get many stories about a villain who makes the mistake of capturing a nice spirit instead of an evil one. Chaos ensues!

I loved the protagonist more than anything. Lord Arkus was a great character who you couldn’t help but love despite him being a self-proclaimed villain.

I have to say though, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the ending and I can’t really say why.

Overall though, this a cute, original read suited to appeal to the child inside every single one of us who gets excited at any mention of heroes, villains and scary, dragon-like creatures!

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Wednesday 27 April 2011

Review: Her Perfect Revenge

Title: Her Perfect Revenge

Author: Anna Mara

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Publication date: February 19th 2008

Book source: Received from author.

My Rating: 8/10

Buy the book

Author Website|


Summary:

Feel again what it felt like when you first fell in love with someone you HATED!!!

Revenge is sweet or is it? Have you ever wanted to get back at someone who was mean to you in high school but when you actually had the guts to do something about it, your plan blew up in your face and they got the better of you AGAIN? That's exactly what happens to Christina Matteo in HER PERFECT REVENGE.

Christina Matteo had a humiliating prank pulled on her in high school by rich, party boy Bill Havenwood. It changed her whole life and she never forgot it¿ or him. Older, wiser and tougher, she meets him again years later and decides to get even. She wants revenge and comes up with a perfect plan. But things don't go her way when she stupidly crashes her car into his ultra-expensive sports car while tailing him.

Not recognizing her, Bill blackmails the uninsured and cash-poor Christina into helping him stay in his billionaire father's good graces by pretending to be his fiancée for one month. Christina decides to go along with his ruse. After all, who knows what dirt she can find out about the jerk from the inside? But as Christina scams Bill and Bill scams his father¿ his father scams the both of them. William Havenwood Sr. knows all about their phony engagement and begins to push the couple to marry for real in order to get them to crack under pressure.

And then Christina's little revenge plan begins to spiral out of control when she finds herself actually falling in love with her avowed enemy, Bill. It's enough to make a girl sick to her stomach! But can she really continue to go through with her plans to make him pay when she's so attracted to the creep? Christina is just stubborn enough to find out!


My thoughts:

I fell in love with this story from the get go.

I turned out to be a lot more than I was expecting to say the least. It was an easy, fun read that had relatable characters, a realistic plot and great, fun writing.

It did get a little clichéd at times but I thought it added to the story as a whole and sort of balanced out the times when it got a little more on the upsetting side…when things weren’t going the character’s way!

Her Perfect Revenge can be perfectly described as an emotional rollercoaster. It had a great mix of everything; anger, happiness, frustration. You could feel everything that the characters were supposed to feel it was portrayed that well.

Plus it was so much more than just the average love story. The protagonist (Christina) sets out to get revenge on Bill who had played a cruel prank on her in high school. But it doesn’t work out that way. Even though what is going to happen in the end is pretty much determined from the start, it takes a looooong time to get there and said time is full of ups and downs that is not expected. There were more than a few surprises.

I have to mention Bill’s father, William Havenwood Sr. He was an absolute blast to read. I think he made the whole story to be honest. Every time he popped up in the story I couldn’t help but grin at one thing  or another.

I really do recommend this book. It’s a light-hearted, fun, dramatic read that has something in it for everyone.

 

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Tuesday 26 April 2011

Teaser Tuesday #21

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can take part! All you have to do is:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us (2) teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12 (but don't give any spoilers!)
  • Share the title of the book that the teaser is from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

You can find out more here!


My current read: Anna and the French Kiss

Random Page: #305

Teaser:

Before I know it, the words spill out about Bridgette and Toph and prom, and he listens attentively, never taking his eyes from me. ‘And I’ll never go to one! When Dad enrolled me here, he took that away from me too!’

Happy reading!

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Monday 25 April 2011

Review: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

Title: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

Author: Lauren Kate

Publisher: Corgi Childrens

Publication date: Jan 6th 2011

Book source: UK Book Tours

My Rating: 2/10

Buy the book

Author Website


Summary:

A steamy Southern beauty makes one fatal mistake

Natalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honour of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead.

From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove.

Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.


My thoughts:

For those of you that follow the blog you’ll know that I haven’t had a great experience with any of Lauren Kate’s books. I really didn’t like Fallen or Torment but I thought I would give her books one last chance…

I really, really don’t want to do any sort of book bashing in this review, but I have to say, I really, really hated this book.

I really am sorry to say that I didn't enjoy a single thing about it. I didn’t like the characters, especially Natalie herself, I didn’t like the plot, I didn’t like the writing….I just.Didn’t.Like.It.

There really isn’t much to say after that but I did give it as much of a shot as I could. But, at the end of the day, I had to force myself to finish it in the hope it would get better.

So, that’s it. I think it has come to the point where I just won’t pick up another of Lauren Kate’s books again to save anybody from these sort of reviews that I sincerely hate to write. It’s disappointing. I suppose some author’s styles are just not for me…


About the author:

Lauren Kate grew up in Dallas, went to school in Atlanta, and started writing in New York.
She is the author of Fallen and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. She lives in Laurel Canyon with her husband and hopes to work in a restaurant kitchen, get a dog, and learn how to surf.
She is currently at work on the sequel to Fallen.

 

 

 

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Sunday 24 April 2011

In My Mailbox #16

Hey guys,

So I got two books in the post this week, both from UK Book Tours.

 

And there you have it guys!

Happy reading!

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Monday 18 April 2011

Review: The Summoner

Title: The Summoner

Author: Layton Green

Publication date: 8/12/2010

Book source: Ebook received from author

My Rating: 7/10

Buy the book


Summary:

A United States diplomat disappears in front of hundreds of onlookers while attending a religious ceremony in the bushveld of Zimbabwe.

Dominic Grey, Diplomatic Security special agent, product of a violent childhood and a worn passport, is assigned to investigate. Aiding the investigation is Professor Viktor Radek, religious phenomenologist and expert on cults, and Nya Mashumba, the local government liaison.

What Grey uncovers is a terrifying cult older than Western civilization, the harsh underbelly of a country in despair, a demagogic priest seemingly able to perform impossibilities, and the identity of the newest target.

Himself.


My thoughts:

I loved the characters more than anything in this story. They were really three-dimensional and had such depth it made them really realistic and relatable.

I also really loved the plot. It was definitely intense and exciting, definitely one to keep you reading on. The idea behind the story was great. The settings were described in great descriptive detail. Really mysterious, creepy places and happenings. Plus with the great characters just thrown into the middle of it all…it was great. Definitely not what I was expecting to say the least.

I did find that at times the story could be a little slow going but once I got into it, I really got into it and couldn’t put it down. It has really great quality to the writing with such detail that as well as being a great story it was also one of those reads that you can imagine going on in your head like a film as you’re reading it which is what I like in a book.

There were loads of twists and turns that definitely surprised me and it was definitely a great read that kept me paying attention to the details and actually thinking about what I was reading.

This is one I would definitely recommend!

 

 

 

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Sunday 17 April 2011

In My Mailbox #15

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi with The Story Siren.                                                                                                

 This week I bought:

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words - and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

         

 


A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.


And finally I received:

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

Happy reading everyone!

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Saturday 16 April 2011

On My Wishlist #21

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I want but haven't haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. If you want to know more click here.


New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighbouring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade’s long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.


When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armour," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.
After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.


Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.
Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.


My name is Amelia Gray. I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.

It started with the discovery of a young woman's brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I've been hired to restore. The clues to the killer—and to his other victims—lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.


So that’s what’s on my wishlist this week. What’s on yours?

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Saturday 9 April 2011

On My Wishlist #20

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I want but haven't haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It's also an event that you can join in with too - Mr Linky is always at the ready to link your own 'On My Wishlist' post. If you want to know more click here.


Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.


In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.


Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.


This page-turning debut novel will entice fans who like their paranormal romances dark and disturbing. It's a natural next-read for fans of Stephenie Meyer, Carrie Jones, and Becca Fitzpatrick. But instead of mythical creatures, blood magic has everything to do with primal human desires like power, wealth, and immortality. Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick—the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla.


From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.


Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to email. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.


At Penford High School, Britney Taylor is the queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone's life with a snap of perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her.   For April Bowers, Britney is also the answer to her prayers. April is so unpopular, kids don't even know she exists. But one lunch spent at Britney's table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity.   But Britney's friendship comes with a high price tag. How much is April willing to pay?


New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

So that’s what is on my wishlist this week! What’s on yours?

Happy reading everyone!

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Friday 8 April 2011

Wicked Lovely Winner!

 And the winner is:

 Andrew!!!

 Congratulations! You have 48 hours to respond to the email I’m about to send you!

Happy reading!

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