Contest Winners!!!

Here are the winners for my Dark Divine Swag Giveaway. I just want everyone to know that these were picked my the random number generator, so if you didn't win this time, come back and maybe you will on the next one :)

And the winners are......

Casey


Kristi


Emily

Congratulations, I will be e-mailing you shortly. Please try and respond within 48 hours.

In My Mailbox (21)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren! In My Mailbox is a way to share the books you received each week.

This week I only got one book and it was from the library.

Viola in Reel Life - Adriana Trigiani

Summary - I'm marooned.

Abandoned.

Left to rot in boarding school . . .

Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There's no way Viola's going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.

Also, I took my brother with me and he got a book that I am sure I am going to read after him. It is a series and lucky for us, our library has all four books. There is a fifth that comes out in January.

House of Dark Shadows (Dreamhouse Kings) - Robert Liparulo

Summary - Dream house . . . or bad dream?

When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films . . . but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.

But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into--as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.

They soon discover there's something odd about the house. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.

Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading off to far-off places--in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen's dream come true . . . or his worst nightmare.

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

Summary - A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel. Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. (Summary taken from Goodreads)

Review - A Great and Terrible Beauty was nothing like I expected in both good and bad ways. I loved the story, it was unique and kept you attention. I felt, though, that it didnt get too interesting until the last 100 pages. There were many things that I didnt see coming that I felt made the wait worth it. Also the ending I thought was spectacular. If I didnt know that there were more I would think to read on though. But the way that it ended was very good for the story. There were some aspects of the story, I felt could have gone into more detail.

Cover - 4 stars

Plot - 5 stars

Characters - 5 stars

Writing - 4 stars

Ending - 4 stars

In My Mailbox (20)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren! In My Mailbox is a way to share the books you received each week.

This week I only got one book, but it is one that I am looking forward to reading.

Summary - Sara Black is tiptoeing across a fraying tightrope.
As the new eleventh grader at Anton High – the most elite public school in the country – she sticks out like an old VW bus in a parking lot full of shiny BMWs. But being the new kid also brings a certain advantageous anonymity.
In Anton High’s world of privilege, intelligence, and wealth, Sara can escape her family’s tarnished past and become whomever she wants.
And what’s the harm in telling a few little black lies when it can lead to popularity? That is, until another it girl at Anton becomes jealous of Sara’s social climbing.
With her balance evaporating, one small push could bring Sara crashing down.

2010 YA Book Challenge

So I have decided that I will be participating in this challenge starting in January. There are four different challenges....

--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.

--Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.

--Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.

--Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.

I think I am going to shoot for the Stepping It Up challenge. If I am able to do more that would be awesome, but that is going to be my goal. If you would like to sign up head on over to J. Kaye's Blog and sign up. As soon as I start I will link all of my reviews on this page.

Reviews
1. Faketastic - Alexa Young

2. When the Whistle Blows - Fran Cannon Slayton

3. Troubadour - Mary Hoffman
4. Chasing Brooklyn - Lisa Shroeder
5. Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins
6. The Ghost and The Goth - Stacey Kade
7. Firelight - Sophie Jordan

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

There are two books that I am really, really looking forward to reading and they are...

The Iron King - Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series.





Other - Karen Kincy

Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.

In My Mailbox (19)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren! In My Mailbox is a way to share the books you received each week.

This week I didn't do a vlog because I didn't get too many books and it takes forever to upload videos on Youtube.

For Review:
Lady MacBeth's Daughter - Lisa Klein
Anastasia's Secret - Susanne Dunlap
By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead - Julie Anne Peters

Swag - This week I got some swag from Reggie over at Reggie Writes. I got an Invisible Touch bookmark and a Graffiti Girl sticker.

The Dark Divine Swag giveaway!

Hey everyone, sorry this has taken so long to get up but its finally here. So the lovely Bree Despain sent me some swag to give away on my blog, and here is how its going to work.

There will be 3 winners. The first winner will get a bookmark, a smaller version bookmark, and a sticker. The other two winners will get a bookmark and a smaller version. Oh and did I mention that she signed them?? So if you are interested here is what you have to do to enter :)

+3 for being old followers
+2 for being new follower
+2 following me on twitter (@jmoose09)
+2 for anywhere that you post it. (Twitter, sidebar, own post, ANYWHERE :)

Contest ends November 28 and is for US residents (unless you have someone here that would be willing to send it to you.)

Booking Through Thursday (8)

Suggested by JM:

“Life is too short to read bad books.” I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation.

That is, until this week when I tried (really tried) to read a book that is utterly boring and unrealistic. I had to stop reading.

Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?

I have to first of all say that this week's question is a really good one! I am always wondering how people feel about this.

I do have to say that before, I would stop reading a book. If I found it uninteresting or like it dragged on. But then one day I decided that I would never quit a book ever again. I have had many since that I wish that I could have quit because they were for the most part really boring. Some were kind of disturbing or had content that I didn't really feel comfortable reading about, but I pushed myself to finish.

I think blogging is one of the things that has helped me to finish books.

In My Mailbox (18)

Hey guys, so this week I am not doing a Vlog. I didn't have anything to really talk about in it, thought I do have my helper again. Ok so for the things that i got in the mail. Also I am going to link them to Amazon so that you can see the covers and also so you can get the description, in case you don't know anything about either book :)

For Review: Nothing

Bought: Nothing
Borrowed: Nothing

Won: Ruined - Paula Morris
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (This one has the movie cover, which kind of disappointed me. I like original covers on books, but hey I can't complain! I have been wanting to read this book for so long and now I have my own copy)

Swag: This week the lovely Bree Despain was nice enough to send me some Dark Divine Swag to giveaway on my blog.

I will try and post the details about this within the next few days.

Booking Through Thursday

Which do you prefer? Biographies written about someone? Or autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost writer?)

I think that I would have to go with Autobiographies. I think its easier to relate to because your hearing their story from them, not someone interpreting their story. I know that most biographies are based from the truth or mostly contain the truth but I find Autobiographies easier to relate to.

Princess Bookie Button Challenge

So Cindy over at The Princess Bookie is holding a challenge to make a button for her site and also for her tour site. Well here are my entries. Let me know what you think.

I hope you can see them ok. The originals were bigger but I shrunk them to put them in the post. Hope you guys like them :)

The Chosen One - Carol Lynch Williams

Summary - Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated polygamous community without questioning her father’s three wives and her twenty brothers and sisters. Or at least without questioning them much—if you don’t count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her. But when the Prophet decrees that Kyra must marry her 60-year-old uncle—who already has six wives—Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family.
(From Goodreads)

Review - Okay, so I'm not going to lie here, this book made me so mad and irritated and I don't know how many times I wanted to throw it or crawl into it and tell at everyone.

The book was mostly about polygamists, which I personally find kind of disturbing. I am not a very religious person, but this book was always saying anything outside their compound was "the devil". This was one of the things that irritated me the most.

Then toward the end, I still didn't love the book, but I was starting to get a little more into it. I was happy with the way that it ended. I'm doing my best not to give away any spoilers, but I will say that there are some things that I wish would have also happened, or gone differently.

Cover - 4 stars

Plot - 3 stars

Characters - 4 stars

Writing - 4 stars

Ending - 4 stars

In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren! In My Mailbox is a way to share the books you received each week.

So again I decided to do another vlog. I have to use my digital camera, and for some reason the video has crappy quality, so sorry about that. Anyways, here is my video, and leave me a comment and let me know what you guys think.



Books Mentioned:

For Review:

Dreaming Anastasia - Joy Preble
Captivate - Carrie Jones
Dust - Susan Berliner
Invisible Lines - Mary Amato
Troubadour - Mary Hoffman (1 ARC Tours)
When the whistle Blows - Fran Cannon Slayton (1 ARC Tours)

Books for Grabs:
The Comeback - Marlene Perez

Other things mentioned:
Explorer X swag