September Spectacular Reading Challenge!

 

I'm taking the challenge!  Are you?

It's easy go to Thoughts of a Book Junkie to sign-up.

How does it work?

•It will start September 1st and go on through September 30th.

•There will be a 5 book reading challenge, ( one book a week) that you will have to read. Which books? Any 5 you want. Its your choice... Easy huh. At the end of that week you will post your review on your blog and add your link to the Mr. Linky at the bottom. ( If you don't have a blog you can either post a comment, letting everyone know what you think about the book or sent me an email with your review) * Sep first starts on a Wednesday so you can start your first book on Sunday the 29th if you want.

•At the end of each week a giveaway will be posted. That's 5 giveaways!! The only thing you have to do to enter is, link your review on that weeks Mr. Linky. Plus get an extra entry if you add the September Spectacular button to your post or sidebar! ( Open Internationally)

So go sign-up and Happy Reading!

My 5 picks are....

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Wood

Alpha by Rachel Vincent

Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Paranormalcy by Kersten White

Cross Your Heart by Michele Bardsley

(books are subject to change depending on my mood...lol)

Teaser Tuesdays (29)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser:

He smelled of cigars and leather.  "Death is nothing to be afraid of."

"It's not death I'm afraid of."

"What is it, then?"

"Life," I said, my voice small.

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either a link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your two 'teasers' in a comment here (if you don't have a blog). Thanks and Happy Reading!!!

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy WINNERS

Before I get into telling you who won the 2 preorders from my portion of the contest I just want to say, sorry for being MIA lately.  I've been extremely sick since Wednesday and couldn't even get out of bed (even had to go to the hospital for awhile).  I even had to spend my birthday on Saturday in bed :(  I'm now starting to recover and I have a few reviews I need to get wrote up, so I'll have this blog up and running again soon !!

Now, the part you're really wanting to know...the winners....

Chosen from random.org the winners are.............

Lori - email starting with ltybur1

Lauren/Shooting Stars Mag


Both winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to respond.

Thanks to everyone who entered and welcome to all my new followers and thanks to all my old followers :)  I love you all!

Zombies vs. Unicorns ARC review

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 432 pages

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (September 21, 2010)

ISBN-10: 1416989536

ISBN-13: 978-1416989530

Received From:  Smitten With Books ARC Tours

                    4 Butterflies

Product Description:

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

My Thoughts:

A hilarious, action-packed, fun-filled read from the introduction until the end.  I really loved almost all of the stories in this anthology.  There was only 1 that just didn't do it for me, a couple that were only ok, but the majority of the stories were absolutely fabulous.  My favorites? 

Favorite Zombie Story:  The Children of the Revolution by Maureen Johnson.  This story was hilarious, snarky, and all together wonderful.  I was laughing the whole time I was reading it.

Favorite Unicorn Story: The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund.  I've been wanting to start this killer unicorn series after raves from Lori and Candace, and this just makes me want to read it even more.  Scary, action-packed, and wonderful.

My favorite thing in the book had to be the back and forth banter between Holly and Justine before each story.  They would each state their case, unicorn or zombie, and do a little argument about the upcoming story and the merits to their side of the war.  These were so funny that I kept my husband up late the night I was reading it just to read each one of them to him...lol.

So, I guess the part we're all wondering is....where do I fall after reading this book? 

Team Zombie or Team Unicorn

Since I love both types of stories I had to do a little work to really figure out which side of the fence that I fall on....

So, I rated each story as I went and added them up to see who would come out in the lead.

So, the part you've all been waiting for....

The score:

Unicorn - 21/30 stars

Zombie - 26/30 stars

Looks like I fall solidly into Team Zombie (sorry Holly, I really do love you and your rainbow-farting unicorns too!)

Shadow Hills available as an ebook!

I know that most of you are deeply immersed in Mockingjay land right now, but we all know you're going to need something else wonderful to read when you're done.

Well, luckily for you, Shadow Hills released as an ebook today!

If you have a Kindle or Nook, then be sure to click the links and head over to get Shadow Hills.

If you don't have an ereader, don't worry, it's available in print as well!

This book was absolutely wonderful.  You can go read my review if you need more convincing!

Happy Reading!!

Teaser Tuesdays (28)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser:

When he whispered, his warm breath brushed over my lips, "Just let me kiss you, Calla.  You don't know how long I've wanted to. No one has to know."

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either a link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your two 'teasers' in a comment here (if you don't have a blog). Thanks and Happy Reading!!!

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff ARC review

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: Razorbill (September 21, 2010)

ISBN-10: 1595143378

ISBN-13: 978-1595143372

Received From: Around the World Tours

                   5 Butterflies

Product Description:

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a ReplacementÑleft in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.

My Thoughts:

Maggie Stiefvater's quote on the book covers says "a beautiful story of ugly things", and I couldn't agree more.  This book was completely creepy but not horror movie scary.  Gentry is a town scared to stand up for itself.  Children disappear and ugly things take their place, but no one says or does anything about it, until Tate refuses to except the disappearance of her little sister.  Mackie, one of "the replacements" is growing sick from all the iron in the world he lives in, he's drawn to Mayhem to find a remedy.  Mayhem is full of beautifully ugly creatures, and Mackie soon gets in over his head.

I really loved the characters in this book.  Mackie was completely naive, but while he thinks of himself as weak, he really has a great inner strength that shines through.  He was smart, funny, and brave, even when he was sick and scared.  Mackie's best friend was also a great character, he was so loyal to Mackie that it made me smile every time he showed up.  As for Tate, our female lead, normally I like girls who are smart-mouthed and generally surely, but Tate takes it a little too far.  I never really felt a connection to her because she never really lets us in. My favorite character of all though was the Morrigan.  She's innocence and wisdom all wrapped up in one package.  I adored her!

Overall, this book was creeptastic and I loved every minute of it.  Fast paced and full of suspense.  I loved all of the descriptions of the ugly creatures that live in mayhem.  I especially loved the scene where Mackie plays on stage with the other ugly people, it's electric and just a fantastic description of the power of music!  The books ending wrapped up nicely, there's not really a lot of loose ends, but like real life, it didn't really end with everything perfect and tied up in a bow.  I look forward to reading more from Brenna Yovanoff.

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Where to find Brenna Yovanoff

Website    Blog    Twitter 
Merry Sisters of Fate    Facebook    YouTube

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Karma Bites by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas review

Reading level: Middle Grade

Paperback: 348 pages

Publisher: Sandpiper (August 23, 2010)

ISBN-10: 054736301X

ISBN-13: 978-0547363011

Received From: Netgalley

            5 Butterflies

Product Description:

Life seems to have it in for Franny Flanders.

Her best friends aren’t speaking, her parents just divorced, and her hippie grandmother has moved in. The only karma Franny’s got is bad karma.

Then Franny gets her hands on a box of magic recipes that could fix all of her problems. It could even change the world! Finally, life is looking up.

But Franny is about to learn that magic and karma aren’t to be played with. When you mess with the universe, it can bite back in unexpected ways.

Ouch!

My Thoughts:

This book was hilarious!  I was cracking up from the beginning to the end!  My family kept looking at me like I was crazy every time I would start cackling.  This may be a middle grade novel, but it is one I enjoyed just as much reading as an adult!  It really reminded me of those awful middle school days, and those are undoubtedly the worst years of my life, as I'm sure it was for many of you!

Franny was smart, funny, and resourceful.  She really got herself in some major trouble messing with the universe, but who could blame her!  If I had a box full of magical recipes when I was in middle school I'm sure I would have done a lot more damage!  Who could resist making the cafeteria food taste better, or making your teacher go easier on you?  Although she thought everything was going to work out, it ended up biting her in the butt, and it was all a downhill, laugh a minute from there.

My absolute favorite part of the book had to be Granny.  She was the funniest character (reminded me very much of the crazy granny from the Stephanie Plum series, although she was a little more sane...hehe).  She was quirky and a complete individual, but she loved her granddaughter and was there for her in any way she could be.  Made me miss both of my grandmothers something crazy!

Overall, I recommend this book to all of you.  We all need to laugh, it's healthy for you after all, and this book is just what the doctor ordered!  So go fill your prescription!

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Where to find Val and Stacy:

Website   Facebook   Twitter: Val/Stacy

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Book Blogger Hop and Friday Follow 8-20

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy For Books, go there to sign up!

This weeks question is:

How many blogs do you follow?

My answer:

241.  I don't get to visit them all every day, but I do go through all the posts on my google reader, and when I have something to contribute, I comment :)

 Friday Follow is hosted by Parajunkee, go there to sign up! Since I last hopped.... Reviews:Grace by Elizabeth Scott 4/5 ButterfliesMy Worst Best Friend by Dyan Sheldon 4/5 Butterflies Meme's:Teaser TuesdayIMM (7) Special:I decided to participate in the Contemps Challenge!  Are you? Thanks for stopping by!  If you like what you see I hope you come back soon!

My Worst Best Friend by Dyan Sheldon review

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 304 pages

Publisher: Candlewick (August 24, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0763645559

ISBN-13: 978-0763645557

Received From:  Around the World Tours

            4 Butterflies

Product Description:

Gracie and Savannah are best friends —and utterly unalike. Savannah is beautiful, outrageous, and irresistible to the opposite sex. Gracie is shy, smart, and would rather be studying lizards than meeting boys. Still, they’ve made a surprisingly great team, and (until now) it seemed as if nothing could come between them. But lately, Savannah’s talent for lying and manipulating is becoming harder to ignore. She’s fallen head over heels for an elusive college boy, and Gracie can’t help wondering: is her friend as confident as she seems? When Savannah gets between Gracie and her crush, the line separating best friend from worst friend is crossed.

My Thoughts:

An entertaining read about best friends, worst friends, and the trouble some people can have telling the difference between the two.  This book was a quick read that was light and fun while dealing with something a little more heavy.  The thing that it really makes you realize is that sometimes you just have to let people go, even if it hurts, to make your life better.

Gracie was a great character, she was smart, and tough, and very concerned with the environment.  She was the complete opposite of her best friend Savannah, who is the ultimate it girl.  Savannah is a fly by the seat of her pants, worry about the consequences if they come type of girl.  They had figured out that sometimes opposites attract, and they become best friends who are thick as thieves.  The problems start when Savannah starts using Gracie as her alibi (without even telling her) and causing Gracie to lie to the people she loves. 

I really couldn't stand Savannah, she was very self-involved and was constantly using Gracie and not thinking anything about her feelings.  She really was a horrible best friend and I was screaming at Gracie all the way through the book to open her eyes and see what was going on!  Gracie's love interest, Cooper, was probably my favorite character of the book.  He was funny and quirky and just an excellent guy that was such a joy to read. 

I suggest this book to all YA lovers.  By the time the book is through you'll either be much more appreciative of your best friend, or you'll be realizing you need a new one!!

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Where to find Dyan Sheldon...

Website   Blog

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I'm Taking 'The Contemps Challenge'

Progress: 7/18

Love to read contemporary fiction? Accept the Contemps Challenge and promise to read at least 18 of the 21 upcoming Contemps books between now and August 15, 2011. One lucky challenger will win the grand prize: ALL 21 of our books! That's like a whole bookshelf of books!

As I post my reviews I will link them up in this post.

The books that are bold mean I have already read them and the review is to come.

Italizied means I have them.

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Freefall by Mindi Scott

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

Trapped by Michael Northrop

Rival by Sarah Bennett Wheeler

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

Family by Micol Ostow

Back When You Were Easier to Love by Emily Wing Smith

Pearl by Jo Knowles

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker

The Third Book in the Carter series by Brent Crawford

Sharks and Boys by Kristen Tracy

Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman

Teaser Tuesdays (27)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser:

"Gracie?" He squeezed my shoulder, "Gracie, what's going on?"

I'd make a lousy politician.  When politicians get caught lying, they just lie some more.  But I couldn't do that.  It had to be option two.

My Worst Best Friend by Dyan Sheldon

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either a link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your two 'teasers' in a comment here (if you don't have a blog). Thanks and Happy Reading!!!

Grace by Elizabeth Scott ARC review

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 208 pages

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (September 16, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0525422064

ISBN-13: 978-0525422068

Received From: Traveling ARC Tours

Pre-Order Your Copy

             4 Butterflies

Product Description:

Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.

Told in spare, powerful prose by acclaimed author Elizabeth Scott, this tale of a dystopian near future will haunt readers long after theyÕve reached the final page.

My Thoughts:

This review is going to be hard to write so please forgive me if it isn't exactly wonderful.

Grace was a really tough subject matter to read about.  The thought of a young girl being raised to believe that her whole life and purpose is to be a herald of death.  To think that it will bring her glory to go out and kill herself and others in a bomb explosion is difficult for me to process.  I cringed almost the whole time I was reading this book.

The book starts with Grace being on the train as she runs away from the community where she grew up, all because she decided she wanted to live.  As the story goes along her past, and why she ran away from it, is revealed.  Also, the boy she is traveling with reveals his past, and I don't want to give anything away, but it was gruesome and just as hard to read as Grace's tragic life.

The writing was beautiful, but I just couldn't get past the subject matter to the point where I could say that I loved it.  All I know is that I will be glad to read more by Elizabeth Scott, but I never want to read about this type of subject matter again!

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the Story Siren where we get to see what great books eveyone got in for the week.

For Review:

My Worst Best Friend by Dyan Sheldon (Around the World Tours)

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Around the World Tours)

Greek Double Date by Marsha Warner (Harlequin Teen)

Radiance by Alyson Noel (Around the World Tours)

Won:

Various Swag Bookmarks from Jackie

Vampire Academy Graduate T-Shirt from Penguin YA

Signed copy of Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams

Bought/Trade:

Love You, Hate You, Miss You by Elizabeth Scott

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Willow by Julie Hoban

Mistwood by Lean Cypress

Nomansland by Lesley Hauge

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

500 Followers Giveaway WINNERS

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!! There was 740 entries!!!

The US winner of 13 to Life and the swag pack is....

Kaitlyn from Kaitlyn in Bookland

The International winner of the book of your choice from Book Depository is...

Ekta Patel

I have emailed the winners and they will have 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner.

If you didn't win, don't worry!  You can still go enter the Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer Giveaway for your chance at 6 new release/preorders!!

Blog Hop and Friday Follow 8-13

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy-For-Books, go there to sign up!

This weeks question is:

How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’?

I currently have over 1000 books on my TBR (about 1/2 and 1/2 to physical and digital), it's way to many, and I've finally stopped buying so many....but I still end up getting them in a little faster than I can read them, so unfortunately it continues to grow...

 Friday Follow is hosted by ParaJunkee, go there to sign-up! Since the last hop I have.... Reviewed:Infinite Days by Rebecca MaizelThe DUFF by Kody KeplingerMonster High by Lisi Harrison Memes:IMM(6)Teaser Tuesdays(26) Giveaways:The following giveaways are still open500 Followers (End tonight!!)Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Monster High by Lisi Harrison ARC review

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Poppy (September 1, 2010)

ISBN-10: 031609918X

ISBN-13: 978-0316099189

Received From: Book It Forward Tours

              3 Butterflies

Product Description:

From Lisi Harrison, the New York Times bestselling author of The Clique and Alphas, comes a new series with a fresh twist on high school, romance, and the "horrors" of trying to fit in.

The monster community has kept a low profile at the local high school, but when two new girls enroll, the town will never be the same. Created just fifteen days ago, Frankie Stein is psyched to trade her father's formaldehyde-smelling basement lab for parties and prom.

But with a student body totally freaked out by rumors of monsters stalking the halls, Frankie learns that high school can be rough for a chic freak like her. She thinks she finds a friend in fellow new student Melody Carver-but can a "normie" be trusted with her big secret?

My Thoughts:

I really had high hopes for this book, and honestly, I was a little let down.  It just wasn't as good as I expected it to be.  I loved the plot, monsters exist in this town, hiding in plain sight, dressing as "normies".  Frankie (the granddaughter of the Frankenstein monster himself) is newly made, and wants to make some changes.  She doesn't think that monsters should have to hide who they are.

Melody is also a new girl in school, recently transplanted from LA, she's hoping for a new start in this new town.  Melody is a great character, she really believes that we should get to know the person inside, not just what we see on the surface.  She finally makes a few friends in this new town (but only after making a few enemies) and also finds a possible love interest in Jackson.  But Jackson acts very strange sometimes, and she's not sure what to think of him.

My problems with this book started with the over done teen speak.  I understand that a teen book should try to speak like a teen should, but after finding these cheesy made up words spattered over every page I started to get really annoyed with it.  There were times that the "teen-speak" was so thick that I couldn't even understand the dialogue.  I hang out with a few teens, and the ones I know definitely don't talk like this on a regular basis.

My other problem was that the book would drag on in places, and once it got to the big finale it ended with way too many loose threads.  I understand wanting to leave it open for a sequel, but some of the plot lines really should have been wrapped up in this book. 

Overall, this book was a quick fluffy read, with an underlying message to except people for who they really are.  While I wish I had enjoyed it more than I did, I ended up coming away from this one feeling lukewarm.  Hopefully the next book in the series will work out a little better for me when it comes out.

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Where to find Lisi Harrison

Website    Blog    Facebook    Twitter

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The DUFF by Kody Keplinger ARC review

Reading level: Young Adult

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Poppy (September 7, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0316084239

ISBN-13: 978-0316084239

Received From: Star Book Tours

                  5 Butterflies

Product Description:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

My Thoughts:

I just can't gush enough about how much I enjoyed this book!  I was completely shocked when I saw on the back cover that an 18 year old had written it.  The writing was so mature, I could hardly believe it!  I was completely engrossed from page one.  The story was fun and deep all at once.  Bianca has a hard time for awhile with her family life and really didn't handle it with as much grace as she could have.  She ended up isolating the friends that really could have helped pull her through it.  Good thing her mistakes didn't lead to any disasters, and she was able to learn from them and become a better person once she was through it all.

Bianca was a character that I immediately connected with.  It felt like the author had took the teenage me and stuck her onto the page.  I loved her snarky, take no crap from anyone attitude.  She had a great friends that stood by her, even when she was acting like a fool. 
Wesley was a great male lead.  He appears to be a stuck up womanizer, but that's just the surface that he hides beneath.  Under it all he's a caring guy that has problem of his own.  I started to have feelings for him right along with Bianca.

Overall, this book was A+ fantastic for me!  The writing was fun and light, even when handling deeper issues.  I would sit down to read for just a few minutes and before I would know it I'd be 100 pages farthur through the book.  I can't wait to see what Kody writes next!

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Where to find Kody Keplinger?

Blog   Website   Twitter

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Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

He kept remembering the Brennan girl's eyes after his outburst.  Something lurked there.  Not fear.  Not confusion.  Not panic.

Something more dangerous.  And very familiar.

Rage.

Virals by Kathy Reichs

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either a link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your two 'teasers' in a comment here (if you don't have a blog). Thanks and Happy Reading!!!

Did you post a Teaser Tuesday? Add it to Mr. Linky below.

Review: Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Reading level: Young Adult

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1 edition (August 3, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0312649916

ISBN-13: 978-0312649913

Received From: Book It Forward ARC Tours

                 5 Butterflies

Product Description:

"Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you...no one."

Those were some of Rhode's last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face.

It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste.

Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust.

I never expected to fall in love with someone else that wasn't Rhode.

But Justin was...daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream.

I never expected to be sixteen again...then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me...

My Thoughts:

I went into this thinking it was going to be your typical YA vamp book, but it was so much more than I expected!  These vamps aren't your normal suave vamps, nor your moping broody vamps, they were so much more and still a combination of both.  These vamps feel nothing, all of their nerve endings are dead.  They literally live a life of internal torment and the only thing that eases it is the kill.  What's great about this one is that although these vamps are completely evil, with no redeemable qualities, once Lenah (who was the queen-bee vamp) becomes human she's one of the best characters I've ever read.

How can a vamp that lived a vicious, murderous life for centuries still charm me with her innocence?  Her joy at the first time she felt the textures of fabrics, or the rain on her skin after becoming human was completely infectious.  Lenah was one of the most complex characters I've ever read.  She's a complete genius, yet completely naive about everyday things.  She's was completely lost when she saw a stereo, but could speak 25 languages fluently.  I just loved her so much, even in the flashbacks to her evil days.
Rhode, although only in the book for a short time, still managed to charm me completely by his love and devotion to Lenah.  A man who literally would lay down his life for his woman, swoon!
Tony was a fantastic quirky, artist, best friend character.  So funny and reliable!
I also liked that in this book, even the mean girls ended up being redeemable before everything was over with!

Action-packed and full of mystery and intrigue, this book kept my attention and made me feel for these characters so much.  I really came away from this book thinking of Lenah as a friend and I can't wait to see where book two will take us after the way this one ended!

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the Story Siren where we get to see what great books eveyone got in for the week.

For Review:

Virals by Kathy Reichs (Around the World Tours)

The Wave by Susan Casey (DoubleDay Publishing)

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (Star Book Tours)

Exraordinary by Nancy Werlin (Dark Faerie Tales Tours)

Monster High by Lisi Harrison (Dark Faerie Tales Tours)

Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen (ebook-NetGalley)

The Oracle Rebounds by Allison van Diepen (ebook-NetGalley)

Won:

Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Random Swag

(thanks Mariah at Reading Adventure)

Mockingjay Swag

(thanks Extreme Reader)

Bought/Swapped:

Unholy Ghost by Stacia Kane