Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Wickedness UK Giveaway!


I am giving away a manuscript of Wickedness by Deborah White!
This giveaway is UK only and you must be over 13 to enter!

Enter below!

Review: Shadow of the Moon (Dark Guardians #4) - Rachel Hawthorne



Name: Shadow of the Moon (Dark Guardians #4)

Author: Rachel Hawthorne

General Release Date: 23rd March 2010

Date I finished it: 19th September 2011

Type: E-Book

My Rating: 3/5 stars







This is the fourth and last book in the Dark Guardians series by Rachel Hawthorne.
To me this was more like a companion book rather than part of the original story.

This book focuses on Hayden who we haven't met in any of the previous books, Hayden has a unique ability, she can feel other shifter's emotions. Because of that she has spent most of her time away from the pack in the human world, but as the time comes for her first shift she has been called back in order to find a mate to go through her transformation with her.

Hayden can't take it anymore and runs away, determined to face her first shift on her own rather than face all those emotions hurling at her. After creating a new life for herself and feeling like she finally belongs somewhere, out of the blue Daniel shows up to take her back to the pack.

I did enjoy this book, and it was nice seeing the old characters from the first three books, but to me it wasn't as great a story line as the rest of the series. The plot was a bit predictable, I didn't like Hayden as a main character at all. I don't think she had the depth needed for a main character and most of the time she just annoyed me.

This book was a bit of a let down to be honest, the writing in this one wasn't as great as the previous three. It seemed as though it was a bit rushed. I did like the concept of the different types of shifters though, that is what kept me reading on I think.

Overall, an okay book with some good and bad qualities to it.
I did enjoy the ending and thought it brought the series to a close nicely.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Here Lies Bridget UK Giveaway


I think it's time for another giveaway!

I am giving away a copy of Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison
Giveaway runs from today 24th September till 8th October.
Giveaway is only open to UK residents and you must be over 13 to enter!

So what are you waiting for? 
Get your entry in now!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

700 follower Giveaway Winners!


There was 727 entries for my 700 follower giveaway, wow!

So here are the winners:

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Golden Healers Giveaway winner!


and the winner is....
Leigh Ann

I have passed your email address on and your e-copy of the book should be with you shortly!

Congrats!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday #1


Instead of a Teaser Tuesday this week I'm taking part in The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday for a change!

This week is top ten books I feel as though everyone has read but me.

1. The Iron King (Iron Fey series) by Julie Kagawa: I do have the first three books of the series in paperback and I got the fourth one as an arc from Net Galley. But I still haven't read any of them yet! I keep hearing great things about the series so I really need to start it soon!

2. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard: I am addicted to the tv show, but for some reason have never picked up the books!! I have the first nine books in the series on my Kindle, but am still to start reading any of them!

3. Evermore (Immortal series) by Alyson Noel: I did start Evermore a few years ago when it first came out. I was staying at my friend's house at the time, we had an argument and I went to bed early. I couldn't sleep so instead I grabbed my friend's copy of this book and the next time I looked up it was 3am. I couldn't even tell you how far I got in the book or anything about the story, I don't really remember it now. I have all of the series in paperback just waiting for me to start them.

4. Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires series) by Rachel Caine: I bought the first few books in this series after seeing them on my Amazon recommendations list last year. Since then I have picked up the rest of the series in the 3 for £5 offer in The Works. I now have all 10 books released so far on my bookcase and still haven't started it yet!

5. Hush Hush (Hush Hush series) by Becca Fitzpatrick: I have Hush Hush and the follow up Crescendo on my shelves but still haven't read them yet. I really want to read these soon as I know book three, Silence is coming out soon. I've only heard great things about this series so far so I really need to catch up!

6. Hex Hall (Hex Hall series) by Rachel Hawkins: I recently got the second book in this series through a swap and I still haven't read book one yet! The books sound amazing to me, witches are my favourite YA characters so I can't believe I haven't read this book yet!

7. Delirium by Lauren Oliver: I have had Delirium on my Kindle forever! Then last month I bought it on paperback as well! I have two copies and I still haven't read it yet! I honestly don't know why I haven't because this year I fell in love with Dystopian books. I've Delirium called the best Dystopian YA book around by a few people and still I haven't read it yet - shame on me!

8. Jonas (Beautiful Dead series) by Eden Maguire: I've had this book on my shelf for over a year now. It's short so it doesn't look like it would take too long to get through and I recently got the second book in the series as well. Once again I've failed to get round to reading it!

9. Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs: I won my copy from Tera's blog a few months ago. It's signed and it's a US hardback edition and so pretty! I'm in love with this book's cover! I've heard so many great things about it on Goodreads, blogs and You Tube but I haven't managed to start reading it yet!

10. Darkfever (Fever series) by Karen Marie Mooning: I have only heard amazing things about this series from other bloggers. I'm excited that it's finally getting published in the UK as I want to collect the paperbacks! As it's an adult series it's been put to the back of the pile for now as there are lots of YA books I want to read first, but I will read this series eventually!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Review: Dark of the Moon (Dark Guardians #3) - Rachel Hawthorne




Name: Dark of the Moon (Dark Guardians #3)

Author: Rachel Hawthorne

General Release Date: 25th August 2009

Date I finished it: 14th September 2011

Type: E-Book

My Rating: 4/5 stars








This is the third book in the Dark Guardians series and this time around the story is told from Brittany's view point.

After Brittany running off without a mate for her first transformation in book two I was so anxious to find out if she survived the transformation or not!
Brittany is back after her full moon and all her friends and other shifters are so excited for her, she is the first girl to go through the transformation alone and survive for as long as anyone can remember.
Younger girls are starting to look up to Brittany and realising they now have the option of not choosing a mate, and going through their own transformations by themselves.
But Brittany is hiding a massive secret, she didn't transform. She didn't even feel a little tingle, nothing.
How can she tell anyone that she doesn't belong in this world she was brought up in?

Alongside all the shifting drama Bio-Chrome is back and this time they are bigger and meaner than before.
Mason is determined to create a serum which will give humans the ability to change, and when Brittany and Connor are kidnapped, Brittany is forced to tell Connor the truth, she is human and not a shifter.

I loved this book so much, I think it was my favourite out of the whole series so far!
I loved the romance between Brittany and Connor, especially when they had been kidnapped by Bio-Chrome and locked in the cage. I loved all the tension that had built up between the couple between the events in book two and this one.

Of course we see glimpses of our our favourite shifter girls, Lindsey and Kayla from books one and two.
Now that most of the group have gone through their first transformation it's great to read about them all in wolf form.

This book had a lot more funny moments in it that the previous two, although it is a lot darker and has more story to it that the previous two there are a few moments in there to lighten the mood.
The ending of this book was amazing, for me it tied up all the loose ends and I really don't know what else there is to write about. There is a fourth book in this series but I don't know where that is going to go. For me the story was wrapped up with this book, so I'm excited to see what the next book will bring!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

September Indie Author Giveaway Winner!

There were so many entries for my Indie Author Giveaway!
Thanks so much to everyone who entered, but there can only be one winner.....

Review: The Rising Moon - Nilsa Rodriguez



Name: The Rising Moon

Author: Nilsa Rodriguez

General Release Date: 12th September 2011

Date I finished it: 12th September 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Review Copy from author

My Rating: 3/5 stars





Firstly a massive thank you to the author Nilsa Rodriguez for sending me a review copy of this book!

The Rising Moon follows teenager Lia as she unlocks her family history and secrets.
Lia has never really fitted in, her dreams about wolves she once has as a child are back, and they are hitting her hard this time around. Following the death of her aunt, Lia finally decides it's time to find out the truth about her dreams and what they really mean and also the truth and the mystery that surrounds her past.

The Rising Moon did have a really great plot line. I loved the whole concept of the two different types of wolves and also the fact there is a vampire and a witch in the book. Throw those three supernatural creatures together and you'll always have a great story!
What did let the book down was the characters. For me they weren't real enough.
Lia was a great main character, but I would have liked to have seen a little bit more emotion and depth to some of the other characters in the book, without that they seemed a little fake to me.

There was a few parts in the book that I feel could have been cut out and just seemed to make the story drag on.
I just wanted to get to the good parts and the action, there was some pretty big chunks in the book I didn't feel was necessary.

Overall it was a really great read and an exciting start to a new wolf series!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Review: Dream Lover - D.Michelle Gent



Name: Dream Lover

Author: D. Michelle Gent

General Release Date: 1st August 2011

Date I finished it: 11th September 2011

Type: E-Book

My Rating: 3/5 stars







Dream Lover is a debut novella from D. Michelle Gent.
I honestly had not heard anything about this book until I saw one of my blogger friends was reading it. It was only 86p on Amazon UK so I thought I would give it a try.

Demon Lover follows Dusty, a demon hunter if you hadn't guessed from the book cover already!
In this short novella we we Dusty cross over to the otherworld in order to save her friend from a dangerous demon who has been haunting her dreams at night and hoping to get her pregnant.

Dream Lover was a nice enough story, a bit too short for my liking though. I do read a lot of novella's and short stories but this one was just a bit too short for me.
I didn't feel that I got enough information, that there was still something more to be told.
Maybe that was just me though as the other reviews I've seen for this book haven't said anything negative about the length.

The character of Dusty however was well thought out, she is well written, memorable and also a likeable character.
The plot line is good but not great and it did remind me very much of Richelle Mead's Dark Swan series with the whole crossing over to another world to catch a baddie theme.
But to be fair, all paranormal story lines are used time and time again with a different twist on it, Dream Lover is no exception to that.

Overall it was a quick, enjoyable read that allowed me to shut out the outside world for a wee while.


Review: Full Moon (Dark Guardians #2) - Rachel Hawthorne



Name: Full Moon (Dark Guardians #2) 

Author: Rachel Hawthorne

General Release Date: 1st July 2009

Date I finished it: 11th September 2011

Type: Paperback

From: Charity Shop

My Rating: 4/5 stars






This is the second book in the Dark Guardians series, this time the story is told by Lindsey.
Lindsey has just turned seventeen and is waiting for her full moon to make her first transformation, Lindsey has always been with Connor, he is a good friend, they grew up together and both their parents approve of them being together. So there is no question in her mind that Connor is her mate and he will be there for her full moon when she makes her first transformation.

But when feelings for another boy, Rafe hit her hard Lindsey has a tough choice to make.
Wolves mate for life, who should she choose, the one who has always been there for her, or the one who makes her feel things she never has before.

Thats not the only plot in the book though, there is of course those pesky people from Bio-Chrome who tricked the group in book one. They are still looking for proof of werewolves.

The only downside to this book was at the start there was too much of a recap of book one in the series.
I don't like long recaps, especially since I picked this book up right after finishing book one, the story was still fresh in my mind.

Lindsey was a great character in book one, and it was nice to see her story. I enjoyed having her a narrator in this book. Through Lindsey we get to see the real life of the group of friends who have grew up in this wolf world. 

The book itself is beautifully written and easy to read, as with book one I was hooked from the first page and was completely drawn into this amazing world.


Review: Moonlight (Dark Guardians #1) - Rachel Hawthorne



Name: Moonlight (Dark Guardians #1) 

Author: Rachel Hawthorne

General Release Date: 3rd March 2009

Date I finished it: 8th September 2011

Type: Paperback

From: Charity Shop

My Rating: 4/5 stars






This is one series I've had sitting on my shelves for a while, but just never got around to reading it. I haven't heard much about this series in the book blogging world so it kind of went near the bottom of my to be read list.
So when I finally picked it up I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.

Moonlight follows Kayla whose parents where killed when she was young, her adoptive parents brought her back to the forest they were killed in to help her get over some of her fears and problems. She loved the forest so much she has came back this summer, but this time it's in order to be a Sherpa, which is a forest guide to you and me.

The Sherpa's are a tight knit little group and Kayla is lucky to have been accepted as one of them so quickly.
When the group takes out their first hiking party of the summer things start to take a turn for the worse when then hiking group reveal that they are out looking for werewolves.

I'm not going to give too much of the plot away, but I was hooked on this book from page one. I read it in one sitting, which isn't something I've done in quite a while. There haven't been many YA Paranormal books that have kept my attention for that long recently.
I loved the story of Kayla and her search for the truth, then adapting to that discovery.
There is also a romance element to Moonlight as well, which in my opinion is brilliantly wrote and completely believable.

Every page had something new for the group of friends to figure out or overcome, it is also packed full of action and suspense. I really think this is going to become my new favourite werewolf series!

Review: Invincible Summer - Hannah Moskowitz




Name: Invincible Summer

Author: Hannah Moskowitz

General Release Date: 19th April 2011

Date I finished it: 8th September 2011

Type: Paperback

From: The Book Depository

My Rating: 4/5 stars





Invincible Summer is the story of Chase and his summers spent at the beach house with his family.
When I first bought the book I had no idea that the entire book was written from a male point of view, so when I first started this is came as a big surprise to me.
I'm not typically a fan of male point of view's in books, but I carried on and found myself falling completely in love with this family that Hannah has created.

The story itself follows the rather large family each summer, their joy and their sorrow, their growing pains and family arguments. It is pretty much a coming of age story wrapped up with a lot of family drama.

When I first started this book, I didn't really like it very much. The first few chapters were kind of boring and I was getting confused over the amount of characters in the book.
After about halfway through the book however that all changed, something seemed to click in my head and I knew exactly who everyone was, what they were doing etc.
I really came to love some of the characters in this book, even though there are a lot of them they are all well written and well thought out, their characters come to life on the pages.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but the last few chapter had me in tears. It was at that point that I decided that I did truly love this book.
The ending is very moving, and once the book had finished I had to sit there and compose myself and just could not believe what had happened in this book and in the life of this family.

Overall a really great read!

Review: Without Mercy (Mystic Wolves #1) - Belinda Boring



Name: Without Mercy (Mystic Wolves #1)

Author: Belinda Boring

General Release Date: 8th July 2011

Date I finished it: 8th September 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Kindle version

My Rating: 4/5 stars






Without Mercy is the debut novella in the Mystic Wolves series written by Belinda Boring, or The Bookish Snob as some of you may know her by.
I was super excited to read this novella and got stuck into it right away!

The story follows werewolves Darcy and Jasmine who have strayed from pack territory to go to the shop, only to discover they made the wrong choice coming out without any protection. Danger is lurking around every corner and the two girls get caught right in the middle of it in this story.

Right from page one there is a lot of action going on in this novella, the characters are introduced quickly and then they grow on you.
There are so many emotions in this short story, it's amazing how Belinda managed to fit everything in!

I loved this little taster of what is to come with the rest of the Mystic Wolves series, I can't wait for the next one!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

100 best YA books


Shelag from Word Fiend and Chrizette from All they days of posted this list with the 100 top YA books. I saw the list over at A Muggle's Magical Book Blog I thought I would join in too. 
How many have you read?

My total: 21/100 and 58 Books - The ones in bold I have read
  1. Alex Finn – Beastly
  2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
  3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
  4. Ally Condie – Matched
  5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
  6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
  7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
  8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
  9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
  10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
  11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
  12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
  13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
  15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
  16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
  17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3, 4)
  18. Christopher Paolini – Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
  19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
  20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
  21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
  22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
  23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
  24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
  25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
  26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
  27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
  28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
  29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
  30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
  31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
  32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
  33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
  34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
  35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
  36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
  37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
  38. John Green – Paper Towns
  39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
  40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
  41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
  42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
  43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
  44. Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
  45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
  46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
  47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
  48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
  49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
  50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
  51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
  52. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
  53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
  54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
  55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
  56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
  57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
  58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
  59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
  60. Meg Rosoff – How I Live Now
  61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
  63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
  64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
  67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
  68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
  69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
  70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
  71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
  72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
  73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
  74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
  75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
  76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
  77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere Carnal Over 40 Winks
  79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
  80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
  81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
  82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
  83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
  84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
  85. Scott Westerfeld – Leviathan (1, 2)
  86. Scott Westerfeld – Uglies (1, 2, 3)
  87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
  88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
  89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
  90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
  91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
  92. Stephenie Meyer – The Host
  93. Stephenie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
  94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
  95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
  96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
  97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
  99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
  100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

Review: Succubus Revealed (Georgina Kincaid #6) - Richelle Mead



Name: Succubus Revealed (Georgina Kincaid #6)

Author: Richelle Mead

General Release Date: 30th August 2011 (US)

Date I finished it: 8th September 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Kindle version

My Rating: 5/5 stars






What can I say about Succubus Revealed really?
It is the last book in the Georgina Kincaid series, I love Georgina.
I love her life, her friends and of course Seth.
I had mixed emotions when reading this book, on one hand I didn't want the series to end, but on the other I really wanted to find out the truth about everything that has been building up over the past 5 books, I wanted to see if my theories were right and prayed that Georgina got her happy ending.

I am going to try and keep this review as spoiler free as possible, which for me is going to be hard!
After reading what...16 books by Richelle Mead you would think that nothing she writes would come as a surprise or shock me any more. Succubus Revealed blew me away!

I did have a feeling that some of the things that happened in the book would happen and some of my theories I had after reading book 5 were right, but there were still a lot of massive surprises in it as well. Some shocked me more than others.

At the start of the book I was a bit annoyed with Georgina, after all this time you would think something in her head would just click when things didn't add up. After reading on though I soon realised that if I were in her shoes I would be too wrapped up with everything going on in her life to realise what was happening at the start as well, so I forgave her for that one.

The plot itself is similar to what I've come to know and love from Richelle, the usual mystery, uncertainty and something pulling Georgina and Seth apart again. After about half way through the book I honestly had no idea where the plot was going to go. I knew this was the last book, and there wasn't much more left to read so how on earth was she going to wrap everything up?! 

The second half of the book answered my questions perfectly.
The ending of the book ties up all the loose ends that I've been dying to know about since book one in the series, it left me with tears in my eyes and very, very happy. The last chapter itself was just beautiful.

I still don't think the fact that this is the end of Georgina's story has fully hit me yet.
I honestly loved this book, although it wasn't as action packed as the other books in the series it was an amazing ending to an amazing series.

Teaser Tuesday #16


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 one or 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 Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Only one teaser this week, as it is quite a long one.



 "Parasols with miniature electric gas lamps atop them were all the rage. Hers had a pink light in it, which meant that she belonged to a family that allowed its children to follow the quaint old practice of dating. White indicated that a girl's family would arrange a courtship for her, and blue identified a married woman. Green stood for a woman who wasn't keen on men at all, but whose heard could be turned by the sight of a pretty skirt".

Monday, September 12, 2011

In My Mailbox (IMM) #15



Here are this weeks books!

Review: Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant #1) - Derek Landy



Name: Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant #1)

Author: Derek Landy

General Release Date: 7th September 2007

Date I finished it: 4th September 2011

Type: Paperback

From: Bought from Waterstones

My Rating: 4/5 stars





This is another book series that I had bought the first book and had it sitting on my shelf for a while.
I wasn't entirely too sure what to expect from this book as I know it is aimed at a younger audience but I had heard only good things about it.

When I found out that Derek Landy was doing a book signing for the newest (6th) book in this series I decided I wanted to go, that meant reading at least one book from the Skulduggery series before it!

Skulduggery Pleasant follows twelve year old Stephanie, her uncle has just passed away and he has left her his house in his will!
After a few mishaps, some heavy rain and her mother's car breaking down later Stephanie ends up spending the night alone at what used to be her uncle's house.
During the night, someone breaks in and tries to kill her! Then her uncle's strange friend Skulduggery Pleasant comes barging in to save her from the attacker.

It turns out Skulduggery is a skeleton detective and Stephanie's uncle may have been murdered for a magical sceptre he was hiding. 

I did really enjoy this book, it was a nice taster into Stephanie and Skulduggery's world.
I did think that Stephanie seems to be a lot older that twelve however, maybe she is just smart and witty for her age though, but it did have to keep reminding myself this girl was only twelve!

I really loved the fact that this was a UK based book.
I do have trouble sometimes with US authors when they are describing places or talking about high school. I'll admit, I don't understand how the American school system works at all. How can you only have 3 years of high school when we have 6??
Anyway, I felt relieved in a way to hear Stephanie talking about secondary school, and see the characters visiting Dublin. I've actually been to Dublin a few times, so I could imagine the scenes in my perfectly when I was reading this book. It was also great to read a book written by a UK author as well, I was more comfortable with the language used in it.

Even though this is a book aimed at younger readers. I loved it!
There was so much action and mystery involved in the plot and some of the things that Skulduggery comes away with actually made me laugh out loud.
I love the banter between Skulduggery and Stephanie!

I really cannot wait to read the rest of this series now, especially after hearing some teasers after being at the Derek Landy signing last week!

Review: Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry #1) - Simone Elkeles



Name: Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry #1)

Author: Simone Elkeles

General Release Date: 29th April 2010

Date I finished it: 1st September 2011

Type: Paperback

From: Bought from a charity shop

My Rating: 4/5 stars





I have had Perfect Chemistry sitting on my shelf for almost a year now, I could actually kick myself for not picking it up and reading it sooner!

Perfect Chemistry follows the story of high school senior Brittany Ellis, who on paper has the perfect life.
In reality though her life is anything but perfect, she has a neurotic mother, a father who is always at home and a disabled sister who her parents want to send away to a residential care centre.
Brittany has worked hard to keep of the façade of her perfect life to her friends and peers. 

On the first day of her senior year, Brittany gets partnered with Alex in Chemistry.
Alex is a well known bad boy, he is part of a Latino gang and everyone has some kind of story or rumour to share about Alex.
On that first day in class, sparks start to fly between Brittany and Alex.
Brittany however already has the perfect boyfriend, and to keep her own reputation she can't be seen with Alex, never mind date him!

The story is told from both Brittany and Alex's point of view, alternating at every chapter.
I don't usually enjoy books that switch point of views, but surprisingly Perfect Chemistry was the exception to that rule. I really grew to like both characters and both of their stories.

To be honest I think I was hooked from page one with this book, I loved all the little bits of Spanish that was thrown in here and there. As some of you might know I studied Spanish at university and I'm actually really missing  speaking and hearing the language these days. 

Overall a really great read with a realistic romance story line. I should really start the rest of this series soon, but don't know when I'll get round to it!


 
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