Thursday, June 30, 2011

John Green's New Book Info!

Yesterday John Green did a live chat and he announced some pretty cool information.

His new book is called The Fault In Our Stars. The release date is not known yet. He said sometime March or April of 2012. The book is in a girls POV who is named Hazel. In the live chat he read the first chapter of the book (it's freaking fantastic!)

The book is up for preorder on amazon already.

The coolest thing he announced? Is that he is signing EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE 1ST EDITION BOOKS. Yes that is right, every first addition is going to have the J scribble in it!!

I have already ordered my copy.

While the live chat doesn't seem to be up on his website anymore, he does have another vlog where he talks about it. You can watch it here.

I have a mad fan girl crush on John. I can not wait for the new book! It's going to be interesting to see how he thinks women think.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Cover Reveal! Body Finder 3!

I'm soooooooooo excited for this book!!!!!! The title, cover, and synopsis are all revealed!!


Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet’s talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it’s Violet’s job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by “the girlfriend collector” she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new “relationship” and Violet may have caught his eye....



I'm so excited for this book! I had been thinking the flower on it might be green or yellow but I was always hoping it was going to be purple. I think the flowers on these are so beautiful. I love how they aren't real flowers but man made is pretty cool. The artist in me swoons over these covers!

Goodreads says this will b e published April 12, 2012. 

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Midsummer giveaway winner!

I completely forgot to announce the winner yesterday! It was finally sunny for a day in Oregon (seriously, worst summer weather ever this year) and I ended up cleaning all day.

The winner of a book from Book Dipository is Glad from A Love of Books!

I have emailed you. Please email me back in the next 48 hours.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Follow Friday!

This weeks Question:
Q. In light of the Summer Solstice. Also known as Midsummer...let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?

My Answer:
Hmm I know I like fae stories that revolve around the fae being horrible things, no tinker bell for me (though she's a pixy right?). I think my favorite fae books are the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa and the Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead. I just think they are so interesting. I love how the fae in the Iron Fey are based on all the stories. I heard all the fairy tales based on them while in Edinburgh and thought they were so funny. I even had a dream once where a red cap was after me. I ended up punching my sister in my sleep that night cause of the dream. It was funny.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!!!

Review: Kiss It

Kiss It by Erin Downing
Published by Simon Pulse
Genre: YA
$9.99 (US paperback)
273 pages
What it's about:
A Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
Chastity Bryan has never been shy about going after what she wants. And when sexy, mysterious, so-not-from-this-town Sebastian walks into Chaz's life, she knows in an instant that what she wants next is him. Chaz has no intention of playing for keeps-but she most definitely has intentions. Who needs true love when you've got true lust?

Sebastian has no idea what he's in for--but maybe neither does Chaz...

My thoughts:
While this book wasn't fantastic, it was still pretty good. It managed to suck me in right from the first two pages. I would post the quote on here that got me sucked in, but because it contains a few swear words, I won't post it.

I really connected to the main character, Chaz. Not with her whole obsession of having meaningless sex, but with her uncertainty of what she wants to do with her life. I think anyone who has been through senior year of high school can relate to this character. It is terrifying to decide which college to go to, what to major in, and feel like everyone is making your choices for you. I enjoyed reading about her trying to figure out life and all the scariness that accompanies growing older. There was a lot of analysing life which is something that everyone has to go through. That's what I really liked about this book, it is something that every single person can relate to in one way or another. Life is scary and it was a good change to read about every day problems and not something paranormal like I normally read.  I was fascinated by how Chaz figured things out and how she handled all the complications that came with life.

Overall, this wasn't a OMG-I-love-this-book! read, but it was entertaining. I enjoyed it. I found a few things a little obnoxious like how much was repeated in what Chaz thought, but it was understandable.

I would not recommend this book to people who are a little iffy about sex in YA books. That is almost all this book is about. I also wouldn't recommend it to people who do not like wearing. The "f" word was in this book a lot. I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a real life book. Something every day. A coming of age type of read.

My rating: 8/10
It lost a few points because of the ending. It is not the type of ending I typically like in books. This is preference thing on my part.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday- Why I love being a blogger

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks top ten is top ten reasons why I like  being a blogger!

1. The excuses:
I get to use the excuse of "well, I need to post about it on my blog" in order to justify why I need to spend all that gas money going to signings or on books. It also gave me excuses to postpone doing homework in order to write posts for my blog.

2. Always up to date:
Searching other peoples blogs always keeps me up to date on what books are coming out. I know what books to keep an eye out for.

3. Know what books are good or not:
Before I was blogging, I'd be searching for books while at the store and I'd never know if a book was good or not. I spent a lot of money on books that sounded good but turned out to be pretty horrible. If I would have been blogging I could have seen everyones reviews for the book and most likely spent my money on something else. This goes the other way around with good books as well.

4. Meeting new people:
I've met some really cool bloggers since I started this. It's always a lot of fun being able to talk to other book lovers and being able to fan out with them.

5. Allows me to get arcs:
I know a lot of people say they don't blog to get arcs, but everyone knows that's not always true. ARCs are a great reason for blogging. Who doesn't love getting free books before everyone else gets to read them?

6. Bragging rights:
Yup, I love telling people "well, I'm a book blogger so I blah blah blah" or something like that.

7. Learning how to design a blog:
I've been learning a lot about html and web designing because I do my own designing on my blog and I don't use the new template stuff blogspot offers cause I don't like the look of it most of the time. I do it the hard way but I like learning all this stuff. I've also learned how to work the blogging world and am helping my friend create a blog for her bow designing business (I'll post more about this later).

8. Watching the follower numbers go up:
I love watching my blog get more followers. It's exciting to know that people read what you write and it's even better when they comment! *hint hint :)* haha

9. Entering giveaways:
Woo hoo free stuff!!!...If you win...

10. Helps me remember:
I've always been pretty good about remembering what I've read, but now that I have to write reviews for whatever I read (when I'm not ridiculously behind like I am right now) I remember what I've read better. Plus I can always go back and look at my reviews and refresh myself on how I felt about certain books.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Midsummer giveaway!

This hop is hosted by I am a reader, not a writer.

I've decided to join in this giveaway hop! I'm so excited that it's summer and I have lots of free time to read! So I've decided to give 1 person the chance to win a copy of a book that I read that I think is a fantastic read for the summer!
The choices are:
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Forgotten by Cat Patrick
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Stolen by Lucy Christopher


 The winner will get the choice between one of these books.

This giveaway is open to anywhere that Book Depository ships to. Yay I'm finally having an international giveaway!
To enter, you must be a follower, then comment on this post with your name, email address, and which book you would like to win. For an extra 2 entries go ahead and post about this on your blog or tweet about it.

I'll be announcing the winner on June 25th.

There are 274 blogs participating in this giveaway. Make sure to take a look at who's doing giveaways!

Review: Stolen

Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Published by Chicken House
Genre: YA
$17.99 (US hardback)
299 pages

What it's about:
A stunning debut novel with an intriguing literary hook: written in part as a letter from a victim to her abductor. Sensitive, sharp, captivating!


Gemma, 16, is on layover at Bangkok Airport, en route with her parents to a vacation in Vietnam. She steps away for just a second, to get a cup of coffee. Ty--rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar--pays for Gemma's drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what's happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. The unknowing object of a long obsession, Gemma has been kidnapped by her stalker and brought to the desolate Australian Outback. STOLEN is her gripping story of survival, of how she has to come to terms with her living nightmare--or die trying to fight it

My thoughts:
This is one of those rare books that when I finished reading the book (which was fast because I couldn't put it down), I had to sit there for a few minutes, soak in what I just read, and then immediately write my review. I have to tell the world about this book. While I was reading it, every time I could, I'd tell someone, whoever was closest to me, about the book.

Stolen really got me thinking. It was written in a letter form from a girl who was stolen to her captor. This was by far the most interesting form of writing I have ever read. It really gets to the heart of the story. My words will not give justice to how amazing the writing of this book is.

This book had me not only questioning the characters, but questioning myself and my reactions to the story. This was such a mind blowing love story. It is one of those taboo loves that really get you questioning all of your views on love. This book reminded me a lot of Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma in that respect. I will not be able to get this book out of my head for a while.

My rating: 10/10
Mind. Blowing.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

JK Rowling has big news?

Did everyone see that in 6 days and 9 hours that JK Rowling will be announcing something big? I saw this on the Official Harry Potter movie page on facebook. Here is the youtube link with the countdown. OMG BIG NEWS

So what does everyone think the big news is? I have a few thoughts.
1) She is going to write more about Harry. She said in the Oprah interview that she has more story plots for him but never knew if she would write them.

2) She's writing a new series.

3) If she writes a new series, is it going to be based on the Harry Potter world? I think yes. Then will it be set in the past (maybe about the Order even though they all die) or will it be set in the future? Who will it be based on?

I'm personally hoping for the first option. I'm not ready to give up Harry (I never will be) but the upcoming release of THE FINAL FILM has me a little upset. I've been looking forward to this movie for 10 years and I just don't like the idea that there will be no more Harry Potter to look forward to, either in book form or movie.

What does everyone else think?

Monday, June 13, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday--Awwww moments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme in which you post the top 10 whatever the topic is of the week. It's hosted by The broke and the bookish

This weeks top ten is top ten awwww moments in books.

This is going to be a big ol' spoiler post, so if you are a type of person that doesn't like to take risks and read maybe spoilers, then don't read this post. There is no way for me to write about my favorite "awww" moments without giving away spoilers.

These are in no order. Just whichever ones popped into my head first.

1. When Harry realizes he likes Ginny in HBP:
You know that part when Harry and Ron run into Ginny and Dean making out and Harry describes how he feels like there is a lion in his chest that wants to kill Dean? I don't know why, but that makes me go "awwww little Harry loves Ginny!!!" I always thought it was cute when Harry had a crush.

2. Jace and Clary's "last" night together:
Oh man, when they just fell asleep next to eachother holding hands because they thought the world could end and they wanted to spend it holding each other? SO CUTE! I love seeing Jace's soft side.

3. The end of The Art of Racing in the Rain:
when Enzo comes back as a boy and shakes his old masters hand, I was BAWLING! The idea of our beloved pets coming back as humans and meeting up with us again is by far one of my most favorite ideas.

4. The whole entire book of Anna and the French Kiss:
You know it, the whole damn book is an "awww" moment. There are too many in that book to just pick one.

5. Ash becoming Megan's Knight (Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa):
GO TEAM ASH! haha. I can't get over how much I love this part!

6. Evie and Lend's first kiss (Paranormalcy):
These two are just too cute for words. Both are so innocent and adorable.

7. Finding out who the dad of the future baby is in My Unfair Godmother:
Very few boys (as in, I can't think of any that I know personally) would have acted the same way that Hudson does in this part. His reaction is the cutest!

8. Violet and Jay finally becoming a couple (Body Finder):
I absolutely love how they are the best friends turned lovers. There are so few good stories with that type of love. They are the perfect couple.

9. Seth finding Georgina's soul (Succubus Shadows?):
It shouldn't have been possible, but somehow it was. Won't find out why until the next book! Gah! His soul called out to hers and brought her back. How amazing is that?

10. Dimitri and Rose in the small library (Last Sacrifice):
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Review: Beauty Queens

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Published by Scholastics
Genre: YA
$18.99 (US hardback)
390 pages

What it's about:
The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.
What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program-- or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?


My thoughts:
Beauty Queens was by far one of the funniest books I have ever read. At some points I would be laughing so hard I'd have to put down the book and wipe away the tears of laughter from my eyes before I could continue. I then made family members read certain sections of the book that I thought were particularly funny (i.e. the lyrics to the Boyz will be boyz music. Oh man).

Besides being hysterical, I really enjoyed the characters, Tiara being my favorite. I liked how Bray told everyones backstories and that the POV was constantly changing. How not only were you in the heads of the beauty queens but in the heads of the bad guys as well. There was a well rounded-ness to the story and the plot.

This was such a fantastic beach read. It was hilarious and light hearted but was intriguing and has thought provoking questions all in one. This is one of those books that whenever I see the cover, I'm gonna say "aw I love that book!" I'm already pushing this book on friends and family members to read. Awesome!

My rating: 10/10!
This is definitely a summer book. I don't know if it would be as good reading it in lets say, the winter during a snow storm, but I do think everyone should read the book while laying out in a hammock or on the beach.

On a side note to those who have read the book already, did anyone else picture Ladybird Hope looking like Tina Fey pretending to be Sarah Palin?

Friday, June 10, 2011

My book cover bookcase

For the last week or so I've been working on one of my bookcases. I decided to paint it because it was really ugly and who wouldn't want a really cool painted bookcase?

Left side. It's the paperback cover of Just One Wish by Janette Rallison. I don't know why my camera decided to turn the pink into a purple color, but it's really bright pink.


The top of the bookcase. It's the cover for Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.


The right side of the bookcase. It's the cover for Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. I never realized that you can't really see her nose on the cover till I went to go paint it.


The inside of the bookcase. I collaged it with pages from a book that I got from the dollar store. I couldn't get myself to cover it with a book that I love.

So that's what I've been doing instead of reading for the last week. Now I get to finally finish my book!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Darkest Days signing

Tonight was so much fun! My friend Lesa from End of Book and I drove an hour to Portland to go to the Darkest Days of Summer signing.
Ellen Schreiber, Aprilynne Pike, Tara Hudson, Amy Plum and Veronica Roth were all there. We got there a few hours early and mingled with the other book lovers (which is always so much fun!) We met a few really cool bloggers and talked the whole night. Then Suzanne Young showed up and we all got to talking.

The whole signing part with the authors went really fast compared to what I'm normally used to. All the authors talked a little about their books, and then ran straight for questions. I asked Veronica if she had to pick a faction, which one would she pick? She said abnegation or dauntless. Haha go figure. I also told her Darren Criss should play Four in the movie and that she needs to make a facebook quiz about which faction would you be. She laughed and said she'd get right on that. I still can't believe that we are the same age. It blows my mind that a 22 year old can have a best selling book and movie rights sold to go along with it. Crazy.

I was also telling Amy that I think she should do a spin off and have it be from Charlottes POV because I love her, or Jules.


Amy Plum and me

Tara Hudson and me

Aprilynne Pike, me, and Veronica Roth

Ellen Schrieber and me

Suzanne Young and me

I LOVE going to book signings!

My Book Boyfriend-- Ash

My book boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by The Unread Reader. Every week you post about a boy in a book that you love.

I have a cold right now and I'm incredibly tired, so if this post is all messed up and confusing, I'm sorry.

This week I'm picking Ash from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. With the release of the Iron Knight cover, I'm remembering my love for Ash.

About Ash:
*Is the winter court's youngest prince
*dark and mysterious
*is the best sword fighter there is
*dark, long hair
*piercing, icy eyes
*can turn things into ice

Who I picture him looking like.
Well here is the cover and I won't lie, the model makes me all swoony. I could definitely see him being Ash. Sadly I do not know this models name otherwise I would google him and post lots of pictures of him on here.




Quotes:
"Touch her, and I'll freeze your testicles off and put them in a jar. Understand?"


“And I swear, if there is a way for us to be together, I will find it. No matter how long it takes. If I have to chase your soul to the end of eternity, I won’t stop until I find you, I promise.”




"His breath hitched, and he regarded me hungrily. “You’re playing with fire, you know that?”
“That’s weird, considering you’re an ice prin—” I didn’t get any further, as Ash leaned in and kissed me."

 
"There was a soft chuckle beside me, and my heart stopped.
" So this is Oberon's famous half-blood," Ash mused as I whirled around. His eyes, cold and inhuman, glimmered with amusement. Up close, he was even more beautiful, with high cheekbones and dark tousled hair falling into his eyes. My traitor hands itched, longing to run my fingers through those bangs. Horrified, I clenched them in my lap, trying to concentrate on what Ash was saying. " And to think," the prince continued, smiling, " I lost you that day in the forest and didn't even know what I was chasing."


I could go on and on for a long time about Ash, but I just don't have the energy to do that tonight. I feel like I'm not doing Ash any justice in this post. Sad.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Top 10 Tuesday: favorite book settings

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Tuesday this week is Top Ten favorite book settings!

1. Hogwarts:
Need I say more?

2. Forks Washington:
haha the reason for this one is because I've been to Forks a few times and it is the most pathetic little town there has almost ever been. My friend and I love to make fun of it even if we are the losers that keep going there.

3. London:
I just can't get enough of this place.

4. Chicago from Divergent:
What a horrible place Chicago has turned out to be in this series. Just gets me to thinking what faction I would be in? Amity is the closest one I can think of.

5. Portland Oregon:
I adore Portland because I go there all the time. Love my home state.

6. The 12 districts of the Hunger Games:
I seem to love dystopia universes. I'd never in a million years want to live in this world, but I loved reading about it.

7. The NeverNever from the Iron Fey series:
I love how this has all the horrible fey in it such as Kelpies and the Red Caps. Those are faeries  you don't hear much about.

8. Neverland:
How can you not love it?

9. The Hollows:
I would not want to be a human in this world. Can't eat tomatoes? That is blasphemy.

10. Seattle Washington:
This is just because I love that city.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Review: Die For Me

Die For Me by Amy Plum
published by Harper Teen
Genre: YA
$17.99 (US Hardback)
352 pages

What it's about:
In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.
Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.
My thoughts:
This book was a little odd for me and I don't know if I can give an unbiased review for it.

It started out only being okay. Kate was a character who annoyed me to no end for most of the book. Yes I understand the mind numbing depression that would follow the deaths of my parents and that is not what bugged me about her. I can handle the depression in the characters I read about. What bugged me was how she handled the whole Vincent is immortal situation. She kept calling him a "monster." That really, really, really, really bugged me. If I was dating a guy who's purpose in life was to save people, the last thing I would call him is "a monster." She was always bringing him down.

I also had a problem with it being set in Paris. This is where my bias comes in. I disliked Paris, a lot. I thought that there was too much emphasis that the story takes place in Paris. There was a lot of describing how the characters get to one place or another, and then they had to talk about every single place that they passed along the way. I could have done without all that. Paris itself was almost a character in this book. I don't think that Paris needed to be in it so much.

Besides my dislike of Kate and Paris, I loved the other characters! I sort of wish that the book was just about the group of revenants and not a love story between a human and a revenant. Or if it was from Vincents point of view, it could have been a lot better. Those characters were much more enjoyable for me. I particularly like Charlotte and Jules. The problem with being in Kate's head for the whole book was an issue because she spent a lot of time mopping around and reading. Vincent would have been more entertaining.

All the complaints out of the way, the story was actually pretty good the second half through. I got pretty into it about half way through. I enjoyed it, but I don't see myself racing to the store to pick up the second of this series when it comes out.

My rating: 7/10

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Hop and Follow Friday

 
This weeks question is: What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen? (Both of which could be terrifying.)


My answer:
hahahahhahahah. Well I've memorized the rules to survive in zombieland, so I've got that down. And as for Mel Gibson, I just won't see his movie. I feel more sorry for his coworkers cause they don't have much of a choice to work with him or not. I do have a choice to see his movie or not.



The hop button isn't showing up, so Book Blog Hop is hosted by Crazy for books

This weeks question is: “Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!”


My answer:
Hmmm the first thing that popped into my head was my review for Forbidden. I've become obsest with this book. It was so touching and mind grabbing. I can't stop thinking about it.
 
Now here is my question. How in the world do you get those buttons that are the follow me on twitter and facebook??? They normally have the cute little birdie picture to go with it?

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Cover Reveal: Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa + new Iron Fey novella

Here it is, Ash's book cover!!!!!!

LOVEEEEEEEEEEE ITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!! It is perfect! When I saw which models they were thinking of using for Ash, I wasn't a huge fan, but wow, he looks good on this cover!

A new novella called Summers Crossing which is told from Puck's POV is also out today. Details can be found on Julie's blog here.

What an Iron Fey fantastic day. Now to wait months and months for The Iron Knight. *sigh* Let the countdown begin.

A Very Potter Musical!!!

Two months ago my friend told me about A Very Potter Musical. It's a play that was done by a college a few years ago. It stars Darren Criss (yup, the hottie from Glee) as Harry Potter. It is by far the funniest thing I've almost ever seen. It'll take about two hours to watch it on youtube. Way worth watching it.

Here is the first video for it. I think every potter fan (or Darren Criss fan. Swoon) should watch it.



Pigfarts!!!