Waiting on Wednesday *9*

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's a weekly look at upcoming releases that we're excited about!

I know I'm not the only one that wants this one! If I could get my hands on this, I would be one happy camper. *nods* Very much so.

Beautiful Creatures

by Kami Garcia & Magaret Stohl

Release Date: December 1, 2009

From Amazon:

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.

We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.

At least, that's what I thought.

Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.

There was a curse.

There was a girl.

And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Winner Announced!

So this is the moment that you've all (well not all, but a lot) of you have been waiting the past two weeks for! So without further ado....

*drumroll*

The winner of Catching Fire (ARC) and Soulstice (ARC) is....

CHLOE!

(I have already emailed you. You have 48 hours to respond, or I will have to pick another winner)

Thank you all for entering and for following my blog.

Soulstice by Simon Holt

Author: Simon Holt

Category: Horror

Release Date: September 1, 2009
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Six months. That’s how long it’s been since Reggie found Macie’s journal and since Reggie freed her brother Henry from the Vour that had taken him. That also means it’s been six months since Quinn Waters has been missing.

In those six months a lot has happened, but the Vours have also gone dormant except in Reggie’s dreams. The Vours still haunt her there, until one night when an unexpected visitor becomes not a nightmare, but a reality.

Even though the Vour that had taken over Henry is gone, he still has nightmares, but he is now stronger than he was before. Reggie has also stopped trying to protect him all the time and finally begins being somewhat honest with him.

But what Reggie and Aaron, her best friend, don’t realize is there are more of these Vours than they ever thought possible in their little town. And once they start realizing that Henry and Quinn weren’t the only one’s Vourized, it becomes clear that things aren’t always how they seem, and that you better be careful who you put your trust in. You never know who might be a Vour, and who isn’t.

There was no loss in the creepiness from The Devouring to Soulstice. Unlike most sequels, Soulstice did not succumb to the “sophomore slump.” Soulstice not only held strong, but it also held its own fabulous story. There’s plenty of the same action and twists that you fell in love with while reading The Devouring.

I must admit though, Soulstice definitely ups the creep factor and imagery that once again puts you in a Hell that is not your own, but that is even more twisted than you can imagine. Despite it being a sequel, Soulstice could easily stand on its own. While skipping The Devouring would in my opinion be a mistake since you would miss out on a lot of important story points, but Soulstice does cover enough background points that you could still read it without reading book one.

Needless to say, this definitely lives up to its horror classification. I wouldn’t exactly call it “bedtime reading,” since when I tried that I laid in bed for an hour with the images of demonic creatures running through my head. But despite the creepiness, I loved every page! I found it to be totally fascinating and absolutely unputdownable! And now, I can’t wait for the third book in the series. I need to know where Reggie’s next adventure takes her, and us readers.

In My Mailbox *12*

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that was created by The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea.

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So this week I got quite a few books and a bit of extras!

(And I once again apologize for the low quality of the picture, but it seems that all of these will be taken with my cell phone since that is really simple. So please excuse that.)

Review:
The Amanda Project: Invisible i by Stella Lennon
Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe (For 1 ARC Tour)

Won:
Chelsey by Chelsey Shannon (A Louder Than Words novel, that I am really excited for!)

Bought (or had shipped in from FL because it was cheaper and Bri is awesome):
Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor

Swag:
I got a bunch of awesome Secret Society tattoos from the awesomely cool Tom Dolby (author of said Secret Society, which was great!); which spells giveaway!! So look for that sometime in the next couple of weeks!

Now you know what was in my mailbox, so what was in yours?

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Author: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Category: Contemporary

Release Date: September 7, 2009

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Just about everyone has seen the movie, read the fairy tale, or seen the play of Beauty and the Beast, but I guarantee this is not the version from Disney or what’s written in the books, or even the Broadway play or even the musical. This is a version all its own. This is a version that will show you a modern twist and a new side to the same old fairy tale.

The “Beast” in this case, is actually not a beast at all, his name is Lucius Wolfe (is that not a cool name or what?) and he’s a sophomore in high school. But he’s not going to be at the same high school he was the year before, not since the accident, the accident that cost him both of his arms. The prosthetic metal hooks that are in place of where his arms used to be, that is was labels him as “The Beast” in this tale.

The “Beauty” is actually Aurora Belle, she is beautiful, naturally beautiful and not in that I-don’t-have-to-plaster-myself-in-makeup sort of way. There’s something about Aurora that is different than everyone else. Aurora is sweet, nice, and friendly to everyone until she has a reason not to be. But most of all, Aurora is not afraid. She’s not afraid of Lucius, of his quietness, or even of his hooks.

Upon their first meeting, they both know there is something about the other that intrigues them that draws them to one another. All they have to do is navigate the “popular” kids, high school, and their own issues and find out just why they are so drawn to each other. And that is what makes this story so adorably beautiful.

There’s something about going back to that time in high school, to those kids that always got what they wanted and always had it so easy, that makes this story so relatable, even with its fairy tale roots. But that’s the thing; Lauren Baratz-Logsted has stripped down the typical Beauty and the Beast story and got it down to the bare roots that made this fairy tale so beautiful in the first place. She’s found the love, redemption, and the power of forgiving not only each other, but also forgiving oneself.

Throughout the story, the point of view switches between Lucius and Aurora, which I found quite different and refreshing. I loved the different take on the same situation, and that made it easier to not only understand the characters, but also understand what they were thinking and how they were feeling. It also made it that much easier to fall for these characters and to know them better, at least in my opinion. And in a story that’s just under 200 pages, getting to know these characters quickly and thoroughly becomes important for the reader, and important for the story itself.

I found it remarkably easy to relate Lucius. I mean, who hasn’t been through the taunts and dealt with the bullies that come along with being in high school? It’s easy to fall into a story that you can relate to a narrator, and Lucius may be the easiest I’ve found relatable in a long time. Maybe that’s why I didn’t want the story to end.

It’s easy to forget that Beauty and the Beast was more than just a Disney movie with talking/singing household items and a beautiful girl in a castle with a beast; but it’s so much more than that. It’s the story of redeeming yourself, of falling in love with no boundaries, of forgiving others, and forgiving yourself for things that you can’t change anymore and Crazy Beautiful reminds you of that. It’s beautiful, refreshing, and totally rereadable.

Waiting on Wednesday *8*

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's a weekly look at upcoming releases that we're excited about!

I've heard so much good stuff about this book, that I just have to read it. And I've heard from a bunch of people that it reminded them of the movie Thirteen, and I adore that movie, so that just makes me want to read it even more.

Beautiful

by Amy Reed

Release Date: October 6, 2009

From Amazon:

When Cassie moves from the tiny town where she has always lived to a suburb of Seattle, she is determined to leave her boring, good-girl existence behind. This is Cassie's chance to stop being invisible and become the kind of girl who's worth noticing.

Stepping into her new identity turns out to be easier than Cassie could have ever imagined...one moment, one choice, will change everything.

Cassie's new existence both thrills and terrifies her. Swept into a world of illicit parties and social landmines, she sheds her virginity, embraces the numbness she feels from the drugs, and floats through it all, knowing that she is now called beautiful. She ignores the dangers of her fast-paced life?but she can't sidestep the secrets and the cruelty.

Cassie is trapped in a swift downward spiral tinged with violence and abuse, and no one—not even the one person she thought she could trust—can help her now.

In My Mailbox *11*

Created by The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea.
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This week I got three books and some "apologetic" swag! (hehe, Thanks Laina!) And just so everyone knows, the picture quality is due to my laziness and desire for the simple, which led to the picture being taken with my cell phone. So excuse that...please :)

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (won)
In an explosion of his own making, Lucius blew his arms off. Now he has hooks. He chose hooks because they were cheaper. He chose hooks because he wouldn’t outgrow them so quickly. He chose hooks so that everyone would know he was different, so he would scare even himself.

Then he meets Aurora. The hooks don’t scare her. They don’t keep her away. In fact, they don’t make any difference at all to her.

But to Lucius, they mean everything. They remind him of the beast he is inside. Perhaps Aurora is his Beauty, destined to set his soul free from its suffering.
Or maybe she’s just a girl who needs love just like he does.

Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman (for review @ 1 ARC Tours)
In Herbsman's debut novel, 15-year-old Savannah Brown is contending with a strict but loving mother as well as frequent, serious asthma attacks, something she inherited from her long-absent father, Trip ("he tripped right on out of our lives when I was barely out of diapers"). Savannah, who needs constant medical care and attention, begins a relationship with an older boy from out of town, and her mother is more than a little protective. Only after Jackson proves that he is a responsible and caring boyfriend does Savannah's mother begin to let go. Told in the first person and thick with Southern vernacular, the novel offers a snapshot of Savannah's quickly-changing life. Displaying maturity and independence, as well as faith in the strength of her new relationship with Jackson, Savannah decides to attend a prestigious college program for promising high school seniors. While some of the story remains underdeveloped, such as the clairvoyance that Savannah occasionally alludes to possessing, the cast of characters holds the story together, and the people in Savannah's life are warm and real.

Poseur: The Good, The Fab, and the Ugly by Rachel Maude (won)
Fashion isn't everything.
It's the only thing.
Halloween comes to Winston Prep and the newly named teen fashion label POSEUR introduces this season's must-have accessory: a red-hot handbag called the Trick-or-Treater. But whose design is sweetest? Janie, Petra, Melissa, and Charlotte all insist: Mine. You see the problem?Good thing, then, for the sweetness of revenge. Time to dust off that costume and put your best mask forward. 'Tis the season for candy, conflict, and couture.

The swag was from Barry Lyga's books and a bookmark for Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog!

That's what was in my mailbox this week. What was in yours?

Books I Crave *4*

This is a weekly meme, hosted here, that was inspired by Kristi over at The Story Siren and Jill over at Breaking the Spine, with help from Laina over at Laina Has Too Much Spare Time.

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*All summaries are from Amazon, unless noted otherwise*

Meridian by Amber Kizer

Release: Out Now!
Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles
Release: Out Now!

Ellie remembers how the boys kissed her. Touched her. How theybegged for more. And when she gave it to them, she felt loved. For awhile anyway. So when Josh, an eager virgin with a troubled home life, leads her from a party to the backseat of his van, Ellie follows. But their "one-time thing" is far from perfect: Ellie gets pregnant. Josh reacts with shame and heartbreak, while their confidantes, Caleb and Corinne, deal with their own complex swirl of emotions. No matter what Ellie chooses, all four teenagers will be forced to grow up a little faster as a result. Told alternately from each character’s point of view, this deeply insightful novel explores the aftershocks of the biggest decision of one fragile girl’s life — and the realities of leaving innocence behind.

Undiscovered Gyrl by Allison Burnett

Release: Out Now!
From Goodreads: Only on the internet can you have so many friends and be so lonely.

Beautiful, wild, funny, and lost, Katie Kampenfelt is taking a year off before college to find her passion. Ambitious in her own way, Katie intends to do more than just smoke weed with her boyfriend, Rory, and work at the bookstore. She plans to seduce Dan, a thirty-two-year-old film professor. Katie chronicles her adventures in an anonymous blog, telling strangers her innermost desires, shames, and thrills. But when Dan stops taking her calls, when her alcoholic father suffers a terrible fall, and when she finds herself drawn into a dangerous new relationship, Katie's fearless narrative begins to crack, and dark pieces of her past emerge.

Girl In The Arena by Lise Haines

Release: October 13, 2009

It’s a fight to the death—on live TV—when a gladiator’s daughter steps into the arena.
Lyn is a neo-gladiator’s daughter, through and through. Her mother has made a career out of marrying into the high-profile world of televised blood sport, and the rules of the Gladiator Sports Association are second nature to their family. Always lend ineffable confidence to the gladiator. Remind him constantly of his victories. And most importantly: Never leave the stadium when your father is dying. The rules help the family survive, but rules—and the GSA—can also turn against you. When a gifted young fighter kills Lyn’s seventh father, he also captures Lyn’s dowry bracelet, which means she must marry him... For fans of The Hunger Games and Fight Club, Lise Haines’ debut novel is a mesmerizing look at a world addicted to violence—a modern world that’s disturbingly easy to imagine.

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Release: September 22, 2009
From Goodreads: 17 year-old Kelly Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what shethinks... In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelly's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye.

Now, what books do you crave?

If you would like to participate in this meme, just link back to me and leave the link to your post in the comments! You can find the specifics here!

The Devouring by Simon Holt

Author: Simon Holt

Category: Horror

Release Date: September 1, 2008

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Reggie Halloway is a freshman in high school, she’s a bit awkward, and since her mother left her family, she has had to take over the household duties and become a “surrogate-mother” for her younger brother Henry.

Reggie is a horror junkie. She can recall the works of Poe and Lovecraft from memory, but she also tries to make her little brother braver by reading him some of these same stories. While at work in a local horror bookstore, Reggie comes across a journal titled The Devouring, which contains the scribblings and drawings of someone that would put a madwoman to shame.

This journal contains the creepy, shiver-inducing story of The Vours. The Vours are these demonic, creepy as hell beings that inhabit a host on Sorry Night (it’s December 22), they devour their fear and take over. They turn your brother, sister, friend, or loved one into a hollow shell of what they once were.

Then Henry starts acting strange - he becomes dark, cold, distant, mean. Reggie, with the help of her nerdy but enjoyable friend Aaron, comes to realize that what they wrote off as musings of a lunatic are true; these creatures not only exist but they have taken Henry.

Reggie then has to find out what happens when your deepest fears become reality. She needs to learn how to save the people she cares for by figuring out how to survive within a world that’s one big nightmare. She has to decide if she can devour her own fears before those fears devour not only her, but also the people she loves.

Talk about scary. This is not a story for the faint at heart. Sometimes the imagery is so vivid, that you can picture it within your head. If you’ve never had a story that stayed in your head, then be prepared, because after reading The Devouring it sticks for a bit.

For me, at least, the story has made me think more about my own fears. Could I be so terrified that my guard was so low as to allow a demon into my head and let it put me in my own personal form of Hell? I don’t think so, but you never know. You must conquer your fears, before they conquer you.

It’s a terrifying story, but terrifying in a good way. Put on some happy music, and settle in for a horrifying, yet fascinating, ride.

Waiting on Wednesday *7*

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's a weekly look at upcoming releases that we're excited about!

I find the cover of this to be totally enticing! It's so dark, yet inviting. Either way, it just looks and sounds good.

Firespell
by Chloe Neill
Release Date: January 5, 2010

From Chloe Neill's website:
As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face…
When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building.

The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster.

Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet…

Erec Rex: The Search for Truth

Author: Kaza Kingsley

Category: Fantasy

Release Date: June 30, 2009

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Erec Rex is back in his third adventure trying to save Alyphium. This time Baskania, aka The Shadow Prince, is back again trying to make the Stain Brothers the next kings. From the very beginning it’s easy to see that this is going to be similar to the other two books in that the quests and situations Erec faces will possibly end his life.

This time though, it’s not just Erec’s life in danger, it’s also his best friend (and hopefully one day love interest?), Bethany’s life that is also in danger this time. As Erec returns to Alyphium from recovering from the last quests in Upper Earth, which seems to be a pattern, he finds that Bethany is in danger and he must hurry and get to her before she makes a big mistake.

The Shadow Prince has found an “inside man,” so to speak and is gaining knowledge about Erec and his ventures, that he shouldn’t know anything about. This means, for Erec that one of his close friends is betraying the trust that he has given them. This also means that somehow, he has to outsmart The Shadow Prince, along with the Stain brothers, and complete his quests.

These quests, like all the others, seem like they are becoming exceptionally dangerous and gives me the thought that either Erec can put every superhero to shame or he will be dead by the next book. But since there are still five other books in the series and Erec is the title character, I know this is not the case.

This time Erec must “Get behind and set it free,” which is quite amusing to some extent. We also get a lot of unanswered questions answered and, as usual, we get more questions, but in due time they will all be answered, I’m sure. We learn more about The Hermit, whom we have met before, and we also learn a bit more about Oscar, Jack, and Melody (she was Bethany’s roommate in the first book).

Erec’s second quest in the book, is to find the Awens and bind them to something else that he’s supposed to get from someone that destroyed it long before. Many sorcerers have tried doing this throughout the years, and they all failed, most with their lives. If Erec chooses to not take this quest on, then Upper Earth will not survive, and eventually neither will their own world. We also not only meet The Fates, but in my case appreciate and quite enjoy them. They bring some much needed humor and a quite a few revelations to light, plus they are just fun!

Some of the revelations we get are ones that we saw coming since The Dragon’s Eye, but there are others that are total surprises. There was something about The Search for Truth that The Monster’s of Otherness was missing, and it took me a bit to figure it out and I think I finally did. The Search for Truth was similar to The Dragon’s Eye in the way that we were dealing with Erec and Bethany and Kind Piter and not dealing with so many extra characters.

We learned more about why Erec should be doing this and not focusing on the fact that he is doing it just because he seems to have to do it. I am once again left wanting more in this series, but this time I have to wait a lot longer for the next book which doesn’t even have a release date yet. And knowing that I have to wait so long to finish this fabulous series just makes me even more excited and impatient to know what happens next!

50 Follower Contest!!

Today I hit 50 followers!!!!! *happy dance* I know you're all excited to fins out about the contest, but first things first.

First, I want to thank all my followers!
Second, I want to think all the other bloggers out there that have helped me and answered my questions and everything. You guys have all been amazingly awesome!

Now without further ado, onto to the contest!

In honor of my 50 wonderful followers, I am giving away 2 books! One of which I'm having a hard time letting go of!

This is technically my first official contest! As a lot of you know, I just finished hosting a contest for Michelle Moran, but this one is all me! And I am excited!

















Yes! One winner will recieve both an ARC copy of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins AND an ARC copy of Soulstice by Simon Holt (which I have read and the review will be up sometime this week)!

To enter:
Just leave a comment with you email address!

Now here is how to get extra points:

+1 For being a new follower
+2 For being an old follower
+1 For being a follower on Twitter (leave Twitter name)
+1 For linking to the contest (On sidebar, Twitter, post, etc. Up to 5.) Must include link

Open to US only (sorry, I almost broke)
Contest ends September 27th!

Happy entering!

In My Mailbox *10*

Created by The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea.

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So I only actually recieved one book in the mail this week, but since I kept putting off doing the half of my post that features the books I bought last week, I am going to tack it on here! So here we go!

In the mail:

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Bought:

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

I got for only $3!

I Was A Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

I have the first book and I have the companion book, so I am tryinf to get them all so I can finally read them!

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

I love her! I have read this one before, but I didn't have a copy yet.

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

As you guys saw, I just got Forest Born a couple weeks ago, so I am trying to collect the others so I can read them all!

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

I used to love this books (and the movie version on like PBS) when I was little, so when I found a copy for 75 cents, I just couldn't resist!

Books I Crave *3*

This is a weekly meme, hosted here, that was inspired by Kristi over at The Story Siren and Jill over at Breaking the Spine, with help from Laina over at Laina Has Too Much Spare Time.
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*All summaries are from Amazon, unless noted otherwise*

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Release: Out Now!
An ancient prophecy divides two sisters-

One good...

One evil...

Who will prevail?

Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.

Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust.

They just know they can't trust each other.

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Release: Out Now!

From Goodreads: It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Release: Out Now!
In an explosion of his own making, Lucius blew his arms off. Now he has hooks. He chose hooks because they were cheaper. He chose hooks because he wouldn’t outgrow them so quickly. He chose hooks so that everyone would know he was different, so he would scare even himself.
Then he meets Aurora. The hooks don’t scare her. They don’t keep her away. In fact, they don’t make any difference at all to her.
But to Lucius, they mean everything. They remind him of the beast he is inside. Perhaps Aurora is his Beauty, destined to set his soul free from its suffering.
Or maybe she’s just a girl who needs love just like he does.

Shiver by Maggie Stievater
Release: Out Now!

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.
Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga
Release: October 19, 2009
Time is a funny thing in the hospital. In the mental ward. You lose track of it easily.

After six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit, Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is going home. Unfortunately, she's about to find out that while she was away, she lost track of more than time. Kyra is back in black, feeling good, and ready to make up with the only person who's ever appreciated her for who she really is. But then she sees him. Fanboy. Transcended from everything he was into someone she barely recognizes. And the anger and memories come rushing back.

There's so much to do to people when you're angry. Kyra's about to get very busy.

Now, what books do you crave?
If you would like to participate in this meme, just link back to me and leave the link to your post in the comments! You can find the specifics here!

Contest Winners!

I had my first contest over the past week for the lovely Michelle Moran, who was ever so gracious to allow me to host this contest for two signed copies of her books. The first being a copy of The Heretic Queen, the second being a copy of Cleopatra's Daughter.

Through what could later be a much longer process of randomizing the entries, I have the winners!

*drumroll*

The Heretic Queen

(signed, paperback)

Sara *The Hiding Spot*

Cleopatra's Daughter

(signed, hardcover)

Bri *Bri Meets Books*

I have notified both of you already, as soon as you send me your information, I will pass it on to Michelle and you will recieve your prizes!

I want to thank everyone that entered!

Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness

Author: Kaza Kingsley

Category: Fantasy

Release Date: April 7, 2009

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

When I started the second book in the Erec Rex series, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. There were all kinds of things I already knew should happen, things I wanted to see happen, but there were some things I really didn’t see coming.

It’s been a month since the contests ended and Erec has spent that month in “Upper Earth” recuperating with his family, at least until he receives a letter from his friend, Bethany, that says he must return to Alyphium and begin the quests - or he will forfeit his rights to be king. And with the Stain brothers and Rock Rayson gunning for becoming the next kings, Erec cannot have that happen.

Erec returns unaware of what how public opinion views him, King Piter, and the events that happened the month before. The public believes that Erec is an imposter, that he tricked the Lia Fail, and that the three other boys are the rightful winners of the contests. Erec also returns with the internal debate of whether he can handle the scepter or if the power of the scepter will destroy him.

There are many twists and adventures that Erec encounters, some planned, some not. The quests are deadly and terrifying, but as Erec continues them he learns more and more about himself and about the magical world he has entered. There’s also the matter of all the baby dragons have gone missing and finding them in time to save them and finding out who has taken them.

Erec also has to delve into The Substance, the very thing that holds their world together, the very magic that encompasses their entire lives. There is something about this world that Erec is drawn into that just seems to encapsulate the reader’s attention. The creatures, the people, the places all seem like something straight out of the imagination of someone that’s read too many fairy tales, but that’s because they basically are. And it’s a good thing!

This book could possibly stand on its own, because Ms. Kingsley does seem to go back and do a bit of a recap about things, which I see as a good thing especially for someone that doesn’t go into reading the book directly after the first one.

Along with the adventures, there is still plenty of humor and the characters are taken deeper with this book. I have now officially found myself involved in another series that is going to keep me waiting for the next book. It’s easy to become involved with the story and care about the characters, I even found myself beginning to tear up at a few parts.

There is something for everyone within this book, whether it’s adventure, family, friendship, amusement, or just a story you can get lost in. Most of the time, the second book in a series lacks from the first, and while this one does a little, it doesn’t disappoint and still left me wanting more. I found myself with more questions than I started with and most of them were different questions!

So while I did get some questions answered, there were a lot that I was left with. There are six more books slated for the series, so there is plenty of time to get my questions answered! And I can’t wait to find these answers. There is so much good about this series so far, that I already know I will spend the next few years involved in these characters - and I can’t wait!

Waiting on Wednesday *6*

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's a weekly look at upcoming releases that we're excited about!

The cover of this is so pretty. It's light on the eyes and it's soft looking. I haven't read Kiss Me, Kill Me or Kisses and Lies, but I really want to. Hopefully I will get a chance to read them before this one comes out, because it looks (and sounds) really good!

Kiss in the Dark

by Lauren Henderson

Release Date: April 13, 2010

From Amazon:

With Dan McAndrews's murder finally behind her, Scarlett has high hopes for a fresh start at Wakefield Hall Collegiate, the elite English boarding school her grandmother runs. Unfortunately, those hopes are dashed when her nemesis, the infamous Plum Saybourne, is transferred to the school. Plum wastes no time turning Scarlett’s impressionable classmates against her.

Scarlett has dealt with Plum’s nasty schemes before, and she can handle her archenemy very nicely, thank you—until Plum sets her sights on Scarlett’s best friend, Taylor, and new boyfriend, Jase. Then Scarlett is more than willing to fight for what’s rightfully hers.

Things only get worse after Scarlett becomes entangled in a mysterious death on campus. Scarlett is compelled to investigate because she wants to protect someone close to her. She never imagines that she’ll uncover secrets related to her parents’ fatal accident so many years ago. . . .

In My Mailbox *9*

Created by The Story Siren who was inspired by Alea.
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So this week I got a ton of books. A bunch for review and then I also went to a used bookstore while I was in Nashville. On the way home, I picked up a couple others too! Since there are so many books this week, I'm not going to include summaries (I will include the Amazon links), and I am going to split it up into 2 posts. This is just the books that I got for review, check back tomorrow for the books I bought! So let's get started!

Defining Twilight by Brian Leaf

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran (be sure to enter my contest to win a signed copy of it or The Heretic Queen here!

The Hollywood Sisters: Truth or Dare by Mary Wilcox

Death Mill Mansion: A Lighthearted Comedy by Will Hartzell-Baird

Broken by Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry
Leo and The Lesser Lion by Sandra Forrester

Troubadour by Mary Hoffman

Girl To The Core by Stacey Goldblatt

Malice by Chris Wooding (The cover on this feels soo cool!)
The Restless Dead by Various Authors

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip

How Beautiful the Ordinary by Various Authors