Summer Giveaway Hop

 The Summer Giveaway Hop is hosted by 

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & BookHounds.  

This hop is scheduled to run August 1st to 7th. 

Hey guys, thanks for joining me on my first ever giveaway hop! I have 2 books to giveaway, therefore there will be 2 winners :)

Giveaway #1

The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1) 
by Kelley Armstron.
 

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost -- and the ghost saw me. Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me. -summary from goodreads.com

Giveaway #2

Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely #4) 
by Melissa Marr

Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.
Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death. Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other? -summary from goodreads.com

Giveaway Details:

-To enter giveaway please follow this blog then fill out the form below.

-Last Day to Enter is 8/7/11

-Winner will be annouced on the 8th

-Open to US only!

To enter fill out THIS form! 

Check out all the other blogs participating.

Review: Clarity (Clarity #1)

Title: Clarity (Clarity #1)
Author: Kim Harrington
Publisher: Point
Pages: 256

My Rating:

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift. And a curse. When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most? -summary from goodreads.com

CLARITY is 256 pages of AWESOME! I loved everything about it! Ms. Harrington did a phenomenal job creating a story that kept me guessing till the end, it was so suspenseful that I had a hard time putting the book down! I really enjoyed Clare's family. You could really tell how much they loved each other and how they would do whatever was necessary to ensure each others well being. They work together as a team giving physic readings to tourists in their small hometown, Eastport. But after the tragic murder of a teenage tourist, Clare is asked to “assist” the police by using her psychic ability.

Clare is a great protagonist. The author captures the voice of a teenage girl quite well. We get to see Clarity struggle with self-doubt because of her powers. She tends to isolate herself because she thinks no one would be friends with a “freak”, but it’s easy to see that there are many people who care about her. She is a strong and yet vulnerable character…. I loved that. And of course, we have our typical YA love triangle.

On one end we have Justin, Clare’s ex-boyfriend whom will stop at nothing to get her affection back, and Gabriel, the hot new boy detective in town. Want to take a guess at who I’m rooting for? Well you shouldn’t because I don’t even know. Yes, that’s right; little ‘ol me, the hopeless romantic, DOES NOT know who to root for! (Can you tell this has never happened before?) I thought both guys where really great and I was still undecided at the end of the book as to which one I wanted to see Clare with.

Review: Shadowland (The Immortals #3)

Title: Shadowland (The Immortals #3)
Author: Alyson Noel
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 368
Challenge: YA Series


My Rating:

At the start of this breathtaking novel, Damen and Ever travel to Summerland in search of an antidote to reverse a powerful poison. But instead of the cure they seek, they find something far more sinister: the truth about their existence and the fate lying in wait of an immortal’s soul. Now, with Damen fighting to save them from the Shadowland, Ever turns to magick, hoping to break Damen’s curse. Along the way Ever encounters the mysterious Jude, finding herself drawn to him in a way that will test her love for Damen like never before. -summary form goodreads.com

The book starts off right where Blue Moon left off; Ever saved Damen from dying by giving him a cure. However, thanks to Roman’s bad advice, Ever included her own blood in the mixture thus causing Damen to be allergic to her. Ever’s DNA is now poison to him, they can’t even touch. Desperate to find a cure, Ever uses every resource possible and even begins working at a occult store. That’s where she meets Jude, a new character in the series whom we later find out has served as a love interest for Ever in her past lives.

Ok, I’m going to be forward and just say what’s on my mind; Ever has got to be one of the dumbest teenagers ever! Gosh does that girl make some bad decisions. I honestly think my 12-year-old cousin has more common sense then her. Considering the fact that Roman was the one who messed up the so called “cure” in the first place, why on Earth would Ever go crawling back to him and ask him for help?

Ever makes girls seem weak and unable to make good decisions. What seemed to make this book interesting (for me at least) was Jude. I really liked his character and I think it brought with him new mystery, something the plot desperately needed. I could totally sense the connection between him and Ever. Dare I say I even liked him more than Damen? At least in this novel I did. Damen was acting really weird in this installment.

There were a couple of times where the plot seemed to be advancing and it looked like things were about to get good, but then the ending came and I was just left speechless…. Yeah, I’m talking about the choice to be made with Haven (you’ll see what I mean when you read the book), IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE! It felt rushed and unconnected to anything that was going on in the book. It was as if the author needed a cliffhanger ending but couldn’t think of anything else.

Overall, Shadowland definitely had potential, but I personally feel it missed its goal. But although this book was a bit unsatisfying, I will continue the series to see where it's headed…. Just not anytime soon.

In my mailbox (7)

For more info on IMM or to sign up/post your link, 

visit Kristi @The Story Siren.
(Button made by Missie @The Unread Reader) 

The Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon 

Amy & Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Nailed by Jennifer Laurens

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

A BIG thank you to Jen over at The Broke and the Bookish :) I won Amy & Roger from her blogoversary giveaway! Also to Mrs. Laurens for a review copy of Nailed.

What did you get in your mailbox?

Review: Wolfsbane (Nightshade #2)

Title: Wolfsbane (Nightshade #2)
Author: Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Pages: 400
Challenge: None


My Rating:

When Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemies, she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer—one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack—and the man—she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive. -summary from goodreads.com

I had originally given this book a 4 heart rating, but now that I think about it I’m leaning more towards a 3 ½. Let me explain. In Wolfsbane we pick up right after the ending in Nightshade. With that being said, if it’s been a while since you finished Nightshade, I would recommended going back to read the last chapter or so. Just so you get a better feel on what’s going on (unlike me; I was a bit lost at first).

The first 200 and something pages of Wolfsbane is the history of the Guardians. In the beginning I was very intrigued! The history was very interesting, but after a while it seemed to me like that was all we were going to get, just history. When things finally start to move along, I found myself not liking the way they were headed. For starters- slight spoiler- I couldn’t (wouldn’t is more accurate) believe what happened to Ansel! Super unjust and cruel! Also (bigger spoiler- highlight to read) [[ when Calla finds out her mom was killed because of her, the girl did not show enough emotion. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t the mom’s biggest fan in Nightshade, but she’s still her mother… you know what I mean? I would have cried like a baby, mean mom or not! I get the fact that she’s supposed to be this bad ass Alpha, but come on! Holding things in like that will just make her snap…. Which towards the end, she kind of does. ]]

Calla does have a moment of weakness where everything that’s happened is too overpowering and overwhelming… but Shay comes to the rescue. You’ll see what I mean ;) The last couple of chapters (with the exception of the very last one) were hilarious! I loved getting the girls back together. Sabine really surprised me.

Ok, so if you’ve read this far and your thinking, “Well Diana, all this doesn’t seem too bad…. I think I’ll manage” Well good for you my friend, but let me warn ya… my personal main major complaint; NO REN! Seriously, there is only ONE scene where he is present… ONE! It’s a GOOD scene, but one none the less. I was seriously growing grey hairs over here…. Team Ren all the way! Love Shay, but he just doesn't feel right for Calla.

Like any good series, there is always one book (usually the 2nd book…. New Moon anyone? I wanted to throw that thing to Timbuktu!) that has to be more of a transitional book; the one that prepares us for the awesome happenings that will happen in book 3….. I seriously feel that's what Wolfsbane does. Especially after the big revelations at the end. Ugh. The ending….. KILLER!

Cover Reveal: Spell Bound

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3)

Rachel Hawkins

March 13th 2012

Hyperion Books

O. M. G.! What a gorgeous cover! I cannot begin to explain how much I love this series :) The cliffhanger at the end of book 2 is killing meeeee..... Hate the fact that I have to wait until next March to finally know what happens. I am really liking Sophie in this new cover. She looks like your typical witch-demon, stripped of powers, type of girl :)haha! I kinda wish they'd include Archer in one of the covers.... I am madly in love with him.... To bad he's made of ink and paper :p

So what do you guys think of the cover?
(Anyone else think it's be a good idea to include Archer? :) let me know!)

In My Mailbox #6

For more info on IMM or to sign up/post your link, 

visit Kristi @The Story Siren.
(Button made by Missie @The Unread Reader)

Helllllooooo! :) Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and say hi!

I beg you to please have mercy; I was SO TIRED when I did this vlog! I slur my words, say "um", "so" & "excited" way too many times and I plain out look creepy. I recorded this around 11pm Saturday night, but I wanted to get it done cause I knew there was no way in heck I was waking up early the next day to record it then....

So without further ado, here's my IMM post for this week :)

Review: Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires #2)

Title: Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires #2)
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Nal Jam
Pages: 368
Challenge: YA Series


My Rating:

Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose. -summary from goodreads.com

I’m ready! Bring on the dangers of Morganville :)haha! This series is frighteningly addicting!

Ok, DGD- I think this book was better than the first one. It continued right where the first one ended. The four roomies find themselves trapped by Shane's crazy vampire-hunting father and his bike gang, whom are in town to cause havoc and kill as many vampires as they can. Their first target; Michael. Shane’s dad thinks he’s a vampire but he is totally wrong. Michael is a ghost, NOT a vampire. And although Michael, Shane Eve and Claire are under Amelie’s protection, that doesn’t stop Shane’s dad from causing them problems…. A lot of them!

There are lots of dangerous situations in DGD, and a major race against time to save Shane, because he’s been wrongly accused of killing a vampire and sentenced to death. I love how Eve and Claire take charge of the situation and do all they can for Shane. The challenges they face are definitely more personal then the first book. It proved to me how strong their bond is and that they’re willing to do anything to save Shane’s life. If that’s not true friendship, I don’t know what is.

I'm not really sure why this novel is titled The Dead Girls' Dance in that the actual dance is a very small portion of the book. I really like the fact that we get a lot more character background in this book. We learn more about Shane and his past, as well as what has happened to his family because of Monica. We learn more about Michael and how he turned to be a ghost. We learn more about Eve and her mysterious family, too.

This novel was very action packed! Often times a situation would seem to have no positive resolution, thus keeping me on the edge of my seat and racing through the pages to see what happens! I would not recommend reading this series out of order. This series is NOT like the House of Night, where everything is summarized in very single book (gets annoying actually). I will definitely pick up book 3; Midnight Alley.

My Book Boyfriend (1)

My Book Boyfriend is hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader. Thanks to this meme we now get to gush over some of our favorite "Book Boyfriends", on a weekly basis :) Want to participate? Well head on over to Missie's blog and link up your post! Don't forget to include some stats, a picture of what you imagine your book boyfriend looks like and some swoon worthy quotes!

My pick this week:

Etienne St. Clair

Portrayed by Pierre Boulanger

Sooo... I'm in love with a fictional character, and his name is Etienne St. Clair! You see, there’s this awesome little book called Anna and the French Kiss…and I think everyone should read it. Why you may ask? Well there are many reason, but mainly because of this gorgeous English French American masterpiece;

Quick stats:
-Bilingual; fluent in both French and English.
-BIG brown beautiful eyes, they’re described as weapons against the female race.
-Perfectly shaped lips hiding white teeth, with a twinge of imperfection.
-Dark brown and messy hair. Somehow it’s both long and short at the same time. It’s artist hair.

Scenes/Quotes:

Etienne’s dark eyes search mine. “What are we doing?” His voice is strained. He’s so beautiful, so perfect. I’m dizzy. My heart pounds, my pulse races. I tilt my face toward his, and he answers with an identical slow tilt toward mine.

He closes his eyes. Our lips brush lightly.
“If you ask me to kiss you, I will,” he says.
His fingers stroke the inside of my wrists, and I burst into flames.
“Kiss me,” I say.
He does.

We are kissing like crazy. Like our lives depend on it. His tongue slips inside my mouth, gentle but demanding, and it’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced, and I suddenly understand why people describe kissing as melting because every square inch of my body dissolves into his.

"I'm sorry," he says.
"What? Why?"
"You're fixing everything I set down." He nods at my hands, which are readjusting the elephant. "It wasn't polite of me to come in and start touching your things."
"Oh, it's okay," I say quickly, letting go of the figurine. "You can touch anything of mine you want."
He freezes. A funny look runs across his face before I realize what I've said. I didn't mean it like that.
Not that that would be so bad."

He takes my hands into his.Those perfect hands, that fit mine just so. “Anna?” Our foreheads touch. “Yes?”
“Will you please tell me you love me? I’m dying here.”

"For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home."

What do you think? yey or ney? Isn't he gorgeous?! Oh and just thought I'd mention that Pierre is actually French.... like, in real life :)haaaa! *swoon*!

Who's your book boyfriend?

My Guest Post and giveaway!

Hi guys,

Just wanted to let you know that I did a guest post over at The Book Addicted Girl, blog. Stop by and say hi if you have some time and enter our giveaway for a chance to win :)

Hope you guys are having a fabulous Monday.

Review: Angelfire (Angelfire #1)

Title: Angelfire
Author: Courtney A. Moulton
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 453
Challenge: Debut Author 2011


My Rating:

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul. A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once. While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember. -summary from goodreads.com

This book was just plain out awesome! It’s one of those books you pick up thinking, “I’ll read a couple chapters tonight” and next thing you know its 3am and you’ve finished the book. Yeah… that awesome.

I absolutely loved Ellie. She’s an awesome heroine that knows how to kick ass and take names. Her character was a great change from the damsel in distress who always needs to be rescued by the big strong boy, in this case, Will. There was a lot of mystery to Will and the things he knew but wouldn't tell Ellie. I often times find myself annoyed when a character purposely holds back information, and in the beginning I was mad at Will for not coughing up the dirty secrets. But then later on in the novel you find out his reasons why and everything he does for Ellie…. *sigh*. I need to find myself a Will.

One of my favorite lines that had me literally laughing out loud was when Ellie and Will are training; “His fingers traced the curve of my shoulder softly, as his gaze fell. I gasped sharply. If he tried to kiss me, I’d slap the crap out of him. Bond or no bond.” Haaaa! Loved it. This quote gives you a good glimpse at Ellie's personality... Oh and I was totally rooting for her and Will but I couldn’t help buy LOL when I read that scene…. Haha! Classic!

My only complaint (and minor set back) was the fact that we don’t know much of Ellie’s background until practically the last chapter. Throughout the book I would find myself a bit confused/lost when it came to the reapers, good/bad vir’s…. Who’s what? Who is Ellie? Where did she come from? Why are things so different in this version of her life? And WTF is up with her dad? There’s something fishy about him…. I feel confident in saying that he will probably play a much bigger role in the next book cause characters with an attitude like that just can’t be ignored.

But like I said a lot of information is revealed in the end and all lose ends are tied up nicely (with the exception of psycho dad). I just wish the author would have spread out the info throughout the book, instead of just packing it all up for the grand finale. But, I’m happy to say that it worked out nicely. Overall, Angelfire is a great action pack debut that will leave you craving for more. Can’t wait for Wings of the Wicked :)

Review: Halo (Halo #1)

Title: Halo (Halo #1)
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 496
Challenge: None


My Rating:

Three angels- Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, the youngest and most human- are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness. They must work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all human attachments. Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them. Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong. The angel’s mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her? -summary from goodreads.com

Alright, lets jump right in. I loved this book, I really did. I had read so many negative reviews on this book, that in reality, I just didn’t want to pick it up…. That’ll teach me to be influenced by others negativity. Halo was a rich and delicious reading experience for me, and it was filled with spiritual teachings I often times forget. As far as Halo being “preachy” (I read that in a lot of reviews), I actually felt that it was but being a somewhat religious person myself, that didn’t bother me one bit. If anything, I probably enjoyed it more because of it.

In Halo, we follow three heavenly angels; Gabriel, Ivy and Bethany. I was fascinated with the entire premise of angels coming to Earth to live and work as “agents of light”. Bethany, the youngest of the three angels, finds herself in awe of humanity and the astonishing complexities of teenage life. I loved experiencing all that God has created for mankind through the eyes of Bethany. Listening to her explain the process of getting used to a human body, I felt as if I was a baby learning to walk all over again. All these tiny day-to-day routines we have but seem to overlook seemed 3x more fascinating when someone new to our world is living and describing them.

Soon Bethany enrolls in the local HS and she finds an irresistible connection with the local heartthrob, Xavier. Although Xavier is an all around good guy, he is also well known to keep himself emotionally unavailable. That was something that I loved about Xavier, he’s not your typical love interest who has never been in love. On the contrary, there was somebody in his life before whom he loved and lost, hence the emotional unavailability….. But this fact does not belittle the love that he feels for Bethany.

Bethany and Xavier’s relationship was sweet and realistic… well, you know, besides the part of her being an angel. When things between them started to get tough, Bethany acted the way any other teenage would, and I don’t blame her. I remember how BLIND I was to reason the first time I was in love. Although I’d like to judge Beth for some of her actions… I just can’t. Because I know I would have probably down the exact same thing.

Being a teenage herself when she wrote this book (she was 17…. Seven-freaking-teen!), Ms. Adornetto is also able to capture HS life magnificently. I was literally taken back to HS with the scene description and dialogue…. I forgot how scary it can be. Overall, the author’s writing was phenomenal :) if your looking for a book with a positive message and don’t mind a bit of Christian elements, than Halo is the book for you. I will definitely be picking up book 2; HADES.

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. This meme spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection this week is:

SILENCE
by Becca Fitzpatrick
The third book in the HUSH, HUSH Saga
Release Date: October 4, 2011

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.  -summary form goodreads.com

Isn't that cover just GORGEOUS!? I love it. When I first read Hush, Hush, I was instantly hooked! I finished it within a day. Crescendo was also a good fast read, although I was a bit frustrated with Nora. Her decision making skills suck! But now I am counting down the days to the release of Silence. I need to know what happens to my favorite bad boy, Patch! Especially after that cliffhanger..... your killing us Ms. Fitzpatrick!

What are you waiting on? Share your links :)