Contests

Ending Dec. 25th - Major Holiday Blowout from The Bloody Bookaholic. Seriously, there are a billion prizes. Go enter now, and put my name for recommending you, please! I'll get an extra entry, and then you all might get a chance to win something from my upcoming contest.*winkwink*

Eding Nov. 30th - Major contest over at A Book Lover's Diary. There will be 4 winners, and there are some amazing books up for grabs. Go enter here!

Teaser Thursday!

I promised I would posted a Teaser today being that I missed Tuesday. It really did disappear.

So, for one time only, here is Teaser Thursday!

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

"Where are your clothes from this moring?" Jayne asks, eyeing us suspiciously.

Why do mother always notice things? Unlce Red's just sitting there with his tea, holding his cards, patiently waiting for Aunt Jayne to get her head back in the game. But Jayne's on to us. Any minute now, she'll cluck her tongue, let out a long sigh, and pick up the phone to call my mother and remind her what a horrible daughter she raised.

So the rules say to post two sentences from a random page, but that last paragraph was too cool, and soo very true.

I actually haven't started reading this yet, lol. I finished The Van Alen Legacy last night and was going to start 20BS this morning, but it was Turkey Day, and I was distracted by food and NaNoWriMo.

Swoon: The Story of the Reading of...

Guess what folks, I got to talk to Sin from the mega awesome book Swoon! Dice was there, too, but my question was for Sin, and he graciously answered it for me!

The Book Butterfly had Sin and Dice answer a few questions for their very loyal fans, and let me tell you, this was one awesome interview! The questions were great, as were the answers. Head on over there to read my question, Sin's answer and the others. I promise you it is worth it!


Oh, yeah did I mention that there is a contest going on for the book, too? Yep, so you can possibly win this awesome book, too! The contest ends on the 17th of December, and mor einfo can be found at the end of the Interview with Sin and Dice!


GO HERE **BEWARE THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS IN THE INTERVIEW**

Now while we're on the subject of this book, I want to share a story with you. It's the story of the day I read this lovely book.

I read Swoon when I was moving this past summer. We didn't move far, but it's a bit out in the country, lol. Anyways, I had to get up super early (on a Saturday morning) to be at the house for when the cable/inernet guy showed up.

You all know how they are- "We'll be there between 7am and 12pm."

My mother made me get there at 7:20am, and the guy got there at 12:15pm!

Luckily, I had Swoon with me. I sat down in the empty house, in the middle of the floor, and started reading. I took a few breaks to get comfy on the floor, turn the plug in radio on, and go to the store to get a drink, but that was it. I was severly engrossed in this book by page one. Even when my butt started to hurt from the floor, I didn't move until I was in near tears from it! I couldn't take my eyes off the pages.

Now, I was still reading when the cable/internet guy got to the house. And boy, this guy was way hot! And he tried flirting with me! Tried being the key word. I was too far gone into my book to flirt baclk. He tried so hard, but I just could not find the time to put this book down and flirt with him. Which was a good thing because I have a boyfriend, lol. But still Swoon caught me, held me and didn't let me go at all!

So, I want to tell you all this: If you HAVE NOT read this book yet, go read it NOW! Right now! Seriously. This is the best book you'll read in a while.

I mean, who doesn't want to read about a bad boy named Sin?

Contests = Awesome!

Two contests...from the same blog. Yep, that's right. Today's contests are from A Passion for Books. Casey is having a contest for Fallen by Lauren Kate, and a contest for her 200 followers mark, where you get to choose your own book from The Book Depository.

Contest for Fallen :: Ends Nov. 29th

200 Follower Contest :: Ends Dec. 31st

Now go on over and enter both before they end!

2010 Debut Author Challenge

So, most of you may already know about the 2010 Debut Author Challenge that The Story Siren started, but I just now gathered my list! Yep, I'm getting in on the action. I'm set to read at least 15 books, but that list may go up.

Go to this post to sign up and this post to see what it's all about!

Here's some info straight from the post::

What is the 2010 Debut Author Challenge?

The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year.* I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.

Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.

The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime! * I would like to limit the novels to those released in 2010.You’ll have to do all the research to make sure a novel meets the criteria for the challenge. I do have a few sites that can help with your search; 2010: A Book Odyssey, AuthorsNow & The Class of 2k10 (website to be launched).

Got it? It's easy, huh?

Now here's my list so far:
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Sea by Heidi R. Kling
The Mark by Jen Nadol
All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The Line by Teri Hall
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker
Shadow Hills by Anastacia Hopcus
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Palace Beautiful by Sarah Deford Williams
Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

Two In One!

First off, to all of the USA residents ::



Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a very happy Turkey Day with your loved ones, and eat lots of Turkey and/or Tofurkey. No, I would never forget the vegetarians of the world. I do hope that you all remember what this day is about, and be sure to give thanks to all that you have in life, because no matter how little you have, it's more than some others have.

I am certainly thankful to have such a great family and close friends in my life to keep me sane and grounded. I'm also thankful to have a job in this hard time. I'm also very thankful to all the years I got to spend with my grandmother before she passed.

And books. I am so grateful to have books, otherwise I'd be majorly bored all the time.



Now onto the second part of this post ::

I'm on a blog...and not my own, lol.

Just Your Typical Book Blog has this awesome weekly post thingy called Rock This! Thursday and, though Amber has been neglecting it, she's started it up again. She's been sending questions to other bloggers about their fave songs, bands and books about music the past few days. Her first post was today, and guess what? I was lucky number one.

Go check out Rock This! Thursday with Me- The Ultimate Dumpees. :)

Also, it's on my sidebar and I already psoted about it, but there is an awesome contest going on over there. So check that out, too!

Waiting on Wednesday

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.


An online friend told me about this book last night, and in like 10 words she summarized it, and made me extremely anxious to read it. She's already read it because she's lucky enough to managed a bookstore. She's always got the best book recommendations, and I sincerely thank her for this one!

The Body Finder comes out March 16th, 2010.



**Quick note :: I know I missed Teaser Tuesday, but I will do that tomorrow have a one time Teaser Thursday, lol. I'm still working on some reviews, too. Most are Adult Novel reviews but I managed to fit in a few YA Novels lately, so I'll add those first! Also I have been updating my 2009 Book List,a nd my Upcoming Reviews list.

Two Awesome Contests!

Today I have two awesome contests. One is awesome because it's from an author that most of you may know of. The other is awesome because it's from a blog that two friends of mine work.

First- Happy Holiday Swag from Michelle Zink!! Yep, the author of The Prophecy of the Sister's is holding a massive contest for a massive amount of stuff, lol. Go on over to her site to check it out and see what you could win. It ends November 30th.

Last but not least- 300 Followers Contest from Just Your Typical Book Blog! Amber and Cheryl run this fabulous blog, and they have reached 300 followers. Go on over and see what you can do to win. You'll love it there, I swear!! This also ends on the 30th of November.

Into the Shadow Review

Into the Shadow by Christina Dodd



Blessed—or cursed—with the ability to change into a sleek panther, and driven by a dark soul he’s accepted as his fate, Adrik Wilder abandons his family and his honor to pursue a life of wickedness. He excels at every vice, including kidnapping Karen Sonnet to use for his selfish purposes.

But Karen’s spirit and passion make him question the force of his family’s curse. And when a new evil emerges, Adrik must choose whether to enact revenge on his enemies and redeem his soul, or save Karen from a fate worse than death…



My Thoughts:
This was my fave book of the series! Everyone loves the bad boy. Everyone loves teh rebel. And Adrik is the rebel, bad boy. He's been gone from his family for years and at the end of the last book *START SLIGHT SPOILERS* it was announced that Adrik Wilder had died.

But he's not. *END SPOILERS*

Adrik is very much alive and is as feirce as ever. I really can't tryo to begin to tell you about this books because I know I'll get too excited and ruin it for those who haven't read it. That's how good it is. I feel like jumping up and down while telling all the juicy tid bits of the book, but I cannot do that, lol.

All I can say is that you all need to read this book. Read the series and read this book. It is fantastic.

Touch of Darkness Review

Touch of Darkness by Christina Dodd

The second book in the Darkness Chosen series follows middle brother Rurik Wilder. It all takes place after his oldest brother finds love and the first of four icons that will save their father from Hell and their family from the curse that has haunted them for centuries. He is an acrcheologist, a scarred former Air Force Pilot and, when he gives into his innder self, a fierce bird of prey.

He's also falling in love with a woman who holds a deep secret of her own.

Tasya Hunnicutt is a journalist who has followed Rurik on many digs not because she loves the history of his finds, but for her own reasons. Her family was murdered by a cruel family and she wants revenge. She wants to expose them and weaken them. But these murderes are not your average day Joe's. These men, this family holds a power within that makes them more than human.


My Thoughts:

I loved this book. I think archeology is the coolest thing, so the fact that Rurik was an archeologist made it much better for me, which says something because the book was fantastic by itself.

There was so much to this book besides the romance and the Varinski's. We learned a lot about Tasya's family and her culture, and we learned more about Rurik's horrible past. Of course, it had a semi-happy ending, but this book by far had one of the best adventures of the whole series.

In My Mailbox :: 11/16/2009

Sorry this is late, but I was busy yesterday. So here is my In My Mailbox!

I got three books this week. Two from the library, and one in the mail.

From the library:

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

In the mail:
Touched by a Vampire by Beth Felker Jones
(No idea where this came from, or why I got it. I think it's from a Christian publishing company, though.)

FYI II- In My Mailbox was started by Kristi from The Story Siren.

Photos from a Sad Sunday

Most of you may know that I like graphic art. I love editing photos and adding things to them to make graphics. But I also love taking pictures. Yesterday was the 3rd year mark of my grandmother's passing and my family got together at the river to spread her ashes.

I forgot my camera, so all I had was my cell phone to take photos with. I was annoyed at first, and then I got home with these pictures, and changed my mind. On my phone I have settings where you can change the lighting of the picture in case you are inside, outside, in flourescent, and yadda yadda. I used different settings to take the different pictures, and this is what I got.

Chat with Drew Doyon, the cover model for Hush, Hush

HEy Hush, Hush fans, this is your lucky day. If you follow @HushHushFan on Twitter or are on the Hush, Hush fanforum, you know what I am talking about.

If not, listen closley.

All week long Fallen Archangel and their forum have been having a blast with Cover Week for Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpartick. They've been giving away prizes like bookmarks, posters and a couple more books. They've talked to James Porto- the photographer, they talked to Becca, they talked to the Senior Designer, Lucy Cummins from Simon and Schuster and they talked to the cover boy himself, Drew Doyon.

And tonight at 10pm EST they are having a LIVE chat with him! Yes, he graciously agreed to be apart of their first ever live chat. The chat will take place on the site itself, under the tab LIVE CHAT.

The catch? It's only for forum members. Only the members will be given the username and passcodes to get into the chat. The info will be given on the forum itself a few hours before the chat. So if you want the chance to talk to Drew, ask him questions...go join the forum! It's a fun place, I promise!

Intertwined Sweepstakes

Contest!

Rex Robot Reviews is having their first contest! There will be at least 3 winners, so go on over and enter for your chance to win!

Enter Here

Secret Santa

Here's an amazing idea- Secret Santa for Book Bloggers. Sounds fun, huh? Let me explain a little.

Sign up before December 1st to get put on the list. You need to give your name, address, blog URL and a list of 10-15 books that you'd like to have.

You will be paired with another blogger. You will receive their info around the 10th of December. You will pick one book from their list and mail it to them by the 17th.

You have to e-mail Books Obsession when you send it out, and when you get your own gift.

The book, or books, you send out must be new or gently used.

Sound good? Well, you can go here to read more into and fill out the forum to join.

Yes, I did join myself. :)

*Credit for this idea goes to Kate.

Cover for Spells by Aprilynne Pike

*sighs* Isn't it pretty?

No! It's gorgeous! It's amazing, and it's perfect. I love it. I know you love it, too. What's not to love? Aprilynne graciously officaly posted it on her blog and everyone is freaking...in a good way. What's bad to freak out about with a cover this good? Huh? NOTHING!

Oh, here's her blog, Apparently Aprilynne! If you aren't following her, do so now. Like right now. *big grin*

Teaser Tuesday :: The Cupcake Queen

FYI:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

-Grab your current read.

-Open to a random page.

-Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

-Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


I am currently reading The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper. It's pretty good so far. I love me some cupcakes, so it kinda sucks reading it and not having any around. Ya know? Torture.


Here ya go ::

"That's pretty much my life during third period. Running errands. Developing candy-based theories about the people's personalities."


Suddenly, picking a flavor seems to hold a lot of weight. I decide on grape, my favorite.




I am only like 20 pages in and have yet to meet the person who is genuis enough to make said candy-based theories, but I'm excited to read more and see if my fave candy flavor is mentioned.

Contests!!

Here are a few. I figured I'd post a few at once instead of filling up my blog with post after post of contests, lol.

And Anything Bookish is having a great contest! If you win, you can get quite a few books. Go here for more info. It ends on Nov. 17th.

A Book Lover's Diary is also having a great giveaway! There will be four winners and they get to choose from a wide assortment of books. Go here for more info. It ends on Nov. 30th.

The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really) is having another contest. You could win a signed copy of A Map of the Known World! Go here for more inot. It ends on Nov. 14th.

Froggaritaville's Bookcase is giving away a copy of Hold Still. Go here for more info. It ends on Nov. 20th.

In My Mailbox :: 11/08/2009

So this is from the past two weeks, and not one.

From the library:

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

From a friend:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Night World No. 2 by L.J. Smith

Bought/won/traded:
exit here. by Jason Myers

Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank

Elijah by Jacquelyn Frank

Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Funny story about Shiver and Hush, Hush- Amber from Just Your Typical Book Blog sent those to me at the end of September. I got them at the end of October....

Yeah. The USPS was getting all kinds of hate from the two of us, lol. Also, I had already had a copy of Hush, Hush sent to me that I could keep. But at least, I got them and will send them back when I read Shiver. Thanks, Amber!

Has anyone read The Historian? I read it earlier this year. and it is amazing. I should write a review for it soon.

FYI II- In My Mailbox was started by Kristi from The Story Siren.

Update :: 11/08/2009

As some may know, I've been without the internet for a while. I also got sick with the Swine Flu and a severe sinus infection. This has kept me pretty much glued to my bed, lol. But I am gettign better, my internet is back on and there will be a few updates tonight.

I have updated the November Book Releases. There are not a lot yet, but if you have any to share, let me know by commening on this post!

I have a major In My Mailbox to do before I head to bed tonight, as well.

Also at least 3 reviews are coming. I cannot recall what all books there are, but there are at least 3 coming soon.

Lastly, I need to update my 2009 Book list and update my Currently Reading. I will also do that tonight.

Oh, this is the last thing: I'm scouting for contests! If you know any, let me know and that will save me a few. My list is getting low and I need to get it not-low again, lol.

I am extremely happy to see that I have more members than I had last time I checked. That makes me happy. And guess what? Now that I have a job, I can start giving away my own books. Heck, I've gotten a few in my mailbox latley and I might give one of those away. You never know!

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to start updating my lists and typing my reviews.