Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Teaser Tuesday (62) & Top Ten Tuesday (9)


TEAser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as 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 any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!
Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles!

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
All that put together, the Fenrir wolf was a nightmare come to life. And now it was here to kill me.
-Pg. 105 of "Kiss of Frost" by Jennifer Estep

I'm enjoying this second installment just as much as the first. Gwen's funny, sharp tongue and the enchanting school filled with kick butt warriors is just as good the second time around!

What's your teaser?





Top Ten Tuesday is a 10's list meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. There is a different question every week and all you have to do is answer their question with your top ten results!
Top Ten Authors I Want To Have At My Thanksgiving Dinner
I'm a pretty big fan girl so if you've followed this blog for any length of time, I don't think many of these authors are going to be hard to guess. I'm pretty sure that having all of these authors in one place might make the universe implode though with Epicness Overload.


1) Libba Bray- I've had the extreme pleasure of meeting Ms. Bray and she is about the funniest, smartest person on the planet. I don't think we;d be getting much eating done with her at the table though because we'll be too busy laughing!  


2) Maureen Johnson- Can't have a party with Libba Bray and not invite Maureen along for the fun! I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her (yet) but I have watched every single video Libba Bray & Maureen Johnson have put out together. I will forever snicker every time I walk past an American Doll store.


3) Kimberly Derting*- If you've gotten to meet Kimberly Derting, you know why I'm saying this. She is seriously one of the most down to earth, nicest people I've meet. Plus she's super funny!


4) Diana Peterfreund*- Another one of the authors I meet at YALLfest, I've liked Ms. Peterfreund's Rampant series for a long time. Her books are sort of serious but she was absolutely hilarious. I wish I'd had the chance to talk to her a bit more.


5) Beth Revis*- What can I say about Beth Revis? Quick witted, sarcastic and barrels of laugh sort of cover it. I know she'd be the life of the party anywhere she goes.


* I need all three of these ladies here so they can continue their fight about who would get to be Princess Leila. It was intense and I'm not really sure who would have won.


6) Michelle Hodkin- Because she is literally the sweetest person in the world. It was such a pleasure meeting her and on a panel she said she was most like Jaime is The unbecoming of Mara Dyer. You know, the kid who said he learned Parseltongue and then asked what other foreign language he needed to learn! *in love*


7) Carrie Ryan- Another blogger told me how much fun Carrie Ryan was and while I believed her, I was still blown away when I finally did get to meet her. I know she'd be a great addition to the table, regaling us with how each thing on the table could be used as a weapon during the zombie apocalypse.


8) Katie Alender- I haven't gotten to meet her but we've done plenty of interviews and she is always so sweet. 


9) Veronica Roth- Because she created Tris and Four! Also, because she says she isn't brave and then up and moves to a foreign country. That's bravery in a bag!


10) Tahereh Mafi- I've watched several of her videos and she seems so soft spoken and intelligent. I'd love to meet her!


So can my dinner party come turn now or what? Even if it does mean the end of the world. It's worth it!


Who would you invite to your dinner party?

Blogs I'm Thankful For... Part 2

Already the comments I'm getting on the first post are full of eloquent and generally good natured responses which just goes to show you that what I was saying before was true. Great community full of even greater people!

Here are some of the other blogs I'd like to mention and again, this is by no means all of the blogs I love. It's just a few that I've been frequenting as of late and want to say thank you to!

Up and Coming Incredible Blogs (blogs that don't have as many followers yet but are going to explode):

1) Dazzling Reads- Not only is Natalia super nice but her blog always has loads of up to the minute announcements whether it be covers or book news.

2) Xpresso Reads- Want to talk about a blog that has a bunch of really detailed and thoughtful reviews? Giselle always has something new in her hands and is sharing it with us the second she puts it down. Plus, she comments on other people's stuff a lot. That;s definitely a way to win friends!

3) Brooke Reports- Brooke always has something fun to say and I love the casual tone of her posts. Plus, her header is so stinking cute!

4) Shortie Says...- Jena has loads of in depth reviews, fun posts and interviews. She's also a really sweet person.

5) Cheezyfoot Books- Bella is about the most awesome person on the planet. She was the first to volunteer when I asked for people to help me out with my Happily Ever Endings and her reviews are always so insightful and spot on. Even when I don't agree with what she is saying, she it so eloquently that I can totally see her point of view.

6) The Midnight Bookworm- I choose her as my little sister so you know she has to be awesome! Honestly, getting to know Jessica has been a pleasure. Not only is she super bright and ambitious, she's also really nice and this comes across so well on her blog! I love it when she updates!

New Blogs I Can't Wait To Stalk (some of my recently discovered favorites):


1) My Cute Bookshelf- What drew me to this site at first was the design but it's the content that makes me want to come back for more. Great reviews, tons of memes and an update on releases every week is definitely what I love stopping in for!

2) I Like These Books- This site looks like a filing cabinet and it houses all my favorite things! I love the simple rating system and the to the point reviews.

3) Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me- Lisa is a whole truckload of fun with her Dean avatar! What you'll find here is a whole truckload of awesome reviews and lots of updates. I've actually followed this blog for a while but just realized what I was missing.

4) Hippies, Beauty and Books Oh My!- I really enjoy the thoughtful (but short) reviews!

5) Sash and Em- It's the simple, clean blog design that drew me to this blog but now I love running over there for a review. Even though they are short, they always nail them right on the head!

6) Ester's Ever After- Another adorably fresh blog design with loads of great frequent content. I also really like how Ester's reviews are formatted. They make for quick, easy reading!


7) A Cupcake and a Latte- It was yet another design thing that drew me here and I want to keep coming back for the delicious content!

So that is my really short and incomplete list of blogs I'm thankful for. Again, there are so many, many that I just couldn't mention all of them.

So here's what I want to know. Do you follow any amazing blogs? Or have you been following me and should I be following you? Please let me know in the comments below.

Also, would you be interested if I did a weekly highlight of one blog on my blog? Now that I have several followers, I'd love to spotlight others.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Blogs I'm Thankful For... Part 1

With the big turkey day rolling around, I've been thinking a lot about all the many things I have to be thankful for. All my dreams have yet to come true but I've lived a good life and gotten to experience many a wonderful thing.

One of these wonderful things is blogging. I always read a lot and liked to share my favorite reads with my friends. The problem was, so many people I knew didn't read so it was talking to someone who turned a deaf ear.

I haven't made it too unknown that the truest reason I started this blog was to integrate myself into the world of books for when my truest of all dream comes true and I am able to finally get my first novel published. The main goal of this blog was to network and talk about books. And I did this.

But what I found when I finally started to do this for real completely blew me away.

Never before have I been a part of a community where everyone is so enthusiastic about what they do. The blogging and YA writing communities are so supportive of each other and it feels like everyone truly is rooting for each other to succeed. It's an amazing feeling and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.

So with that thought in mind, I wanted to take a few minutes to showcase some of the blogs I'm thankful for. I should say that I follow a bunch of blogs and this list in no way reflects every single blog I love. It's just a complied list of a very few blogs I love. There are countless more.

Blogs that made me start blogging:
1) A Lush Budget Production: Tales of a Ravenous Reader- I came to this blog before I ever spoke a single word for all the latest updates on what was coming out and what this blogger loved. Vivacious, witty and engaging, this blog is definitely one of the reasons I started mine!

2) The Story Siren- This is another blog I followed along silently with. I was always amazed at how she knew the next great thing coming out and loved watching Kristi's IMM vlogs. Still, to this day, every Sunday morning, I click on her website and settle in to watch her talk about books.

3) La Femme Readers- Eleni always finds the absolute greatest books for her weekly feature Tantalizing Future YA Reads and bloats my wishlist every week. Knowledgeable, snarky and full of fresh ideas, this blog gave me something to aspire to.

4) Page Turners- I remember hopping onto this blog and being blown away by how beautiful the site looked as a very young blogger. They always have great, to the point reviews and awesome interviews. Totally addicted to their site!

Amazing Blogging Friends (Blogs I've loved after I started blogging):

1) Candace's Book Blog- I've been following this blog almost since the beginning and really enjoy it. All the features and fun events have me hooked!

2) I Am A Reader Not A Writer- Kathy is one of the busiest bloggers I know. She is always hosting amazing hops and her blog has a large variety of reviews for every genre under the sun!

3) i swim for oceans- Thoughtful and articulate reviews, fun memes and intelligent posts make this a blog I keep coming back to. Plus, Melissa takes care to respond back to almost every comment with and is so super nice.

4) Midnight Bloom Reads- Liz always has wonderful reviews that I tend to agree with and os just the sweetest person. She's one of my Canadian blogger friends!

5) Reading Angel- I've had the immense pleasure of meeting Angela recently and really couldn't believe she was as sweet and smart as her blog is. Seriously, it's a bit unfair! I tend to always love her reviews and her events most definitely make me keep coming back for me. Plus, how can you not enjoy her vlogs iwth her adorable accent?

6) Pure Imagination- Lori is seriously one of the sweetest people in the world. Her reviews are always so insightful and I love her passion for the books that she loves. For instance, she fell in love with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin and made Mara Mondays until the novel came out. Plus, she's responsible for my lovely blog design and was so patient throughout the entire process.

7) The Bookish Brunette- How cool is Ashley? Seriously, all of her reviews sound like your her best friend and she's dishing to you about the cutest guy in the world! I love the causal tone of her blog and how freaking sweet she is!

8) The Bookish Babes- Andrea is my book twin. We went an entire month literally reading the same novels and agreeing on them for the most part. The reviews are always excellent and she is so passionate about blogging. It inspires me!

9) Stories and Sweeties- Becky always has wonderfully insightful reviews and we generally agree on what we read. I love going to her site because it's so happy looking and she is always taking the time to comment on other people's blogs.

10) The Book Swarm- Mary has a lot of great posts. She just started this new one up called Hype-Worthy or Not that I'm sure I'll be addicted to. Always insightful and honest, her reviews are generally spot on and she is so very nice.

11) Confessions of a Bookaholic & A Life Bound By Books- I feel like these two blogs go together. All of the events these ladies work so hard to put together are incredible. I had a blast at this year's Haunted Halloween twitter party and both of these ladies were just so amazing. Their blogs always have amazing reviews and equally awesome author interviews!

12) The Reading Housewives of Indiana- Both Jacinda and Jasmine are so sweet and I love how they both review books sometimes. Always enlightening and fun, this is a blog I come back to again and again.

As I said before, these are just some of the blogs I absolutely adore. Coming up tomorrow, I'm going to be naming some of my Up and Coming Incredible Blogs and New Blogs I Can't Wait To Stalk More.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

In My Mailbox (62)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren that encourages other book bloggers to share what they bought, won, begged for or borrowed. It is usually held on Sundays!



From Barnes & Noble:

Check out my interview with Nina Malkin's Sin and Dice and enter to win a signed copy of Swoon or Swear!

Blue Bicycle Books:

Check out my YALLfest post and enter to win a singed copy of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin!

From A Life Bound In Books & Confessions of a Bookaholic:

  • A book light
  • Some drawn bookmarks
From Simon & Schuster:

  • Rush by Jeremy Iverson
From Books-A-Million:

From The Teen Book Scene:

So that's two weeks of mail for me. What did you get in your mailbox?

Friday, November 18, 2011

Character Interview and A Giveaway: Sin & Dice from Swoon by Nina Malkin

It's only a slightly hostile takeover today on my blog as I celebrate all things Swoon-worthy. So it seems fitting to have Sinclair "Sin" Youngblood Powers and Candice Reagan "Dice" Moskow for an interview. If you missed it, check out my review of Swoon which posted earlier and get ready to hear all the steamy details of a This or That round.

I want to thank Nina Malkin and of course, Sin and Dice for participating in this interview. Some questions are mine, some are Nina's own special blend and all are awesome!

*~~~*~~~*

Candice Reagan Moskow, AKA Dice, and Sinclair Youngblood Powers, AKA Sin—heroine and hero (or is that villain?) of SWOON and spanking brand new sequel SWEAR—riff on each other’s picks for this, that…or sometimes the other thing.

Good kisser or good listener? 

SIN: It's fairly simple to teach someone how to kiss, but not how to listen. Yet listening is the keystone to understanding, and so crucial if romance is to develop and endure. This is something I learned—slowly, but finally—from Dice, so I’m sure she’d choose good listener. Of course, for she and I, kissing came quite naturally.

DICE: I’m tempted to say that Sin would pick kisser. But he’s changed so much lately…I’m going to go with listener!

Lights on or off?

SIN: On! My lady is not shy. She wouldn’t choose to deny her sense of sight. Plus, Dice is…what’s the expression? A morning person…

DICE: Hmmm…Does firelight count? See, our first time was in front of the fire, and I know that holds a very special place in Sin’s heart.

Mountains, beach or a tour of European cities? 

DICE: Sin is incredibly inquisitive. So for him to have his life cut short at18 was especially tragic. He’d been all set to brave the frontier, apply his pioneer spirit—but he only got as far as Swoon, and we all know how that worked out for him! So I’d say his dream vacation would be to ramble around Europe, see some amazing sights, have some real experiences. Only he’d ditch the tour guide straight off.

SIN: The beach, surely. Considering that my lady recently—and mysteriously, might I add—learned to swim.

Bath or shower?

DICE: Bath for Sin. He’s the ultimate sensualist; he likes to luxuriate. Life was hard for him growing up, so now he’s all about indulgence.

SIN: In this hurry-up modern world Dice is as apt as the next person to grab a quick shower and be done with it. But I know her. She enjoys bubbles, and scent, and candles. And she likes the water very hot.

Silly or satirical?

SIN: My lady is intelligent, analytical and at times quite serious. So it may come as some surprise to hear that she is all about this silly. She enjoys bawdy jokes. And slapstick? Zounds, don’t get her started on those Three Stooges.

DICE: Satire is defined as the use of wit to attack the vices and follies of humankind. And Sin’s whole reason for being in SWOON was to attack the vices and follies of humankind. Of course, his attack was a lot more literal, but I’d still say he goes for satire.

Car, plane or foot?

DICE: Plane! Seeing as how he was born in 1751, Sin’s never flown before. And he’s definitely the type to do what he’s never done before—whatever it is.

SIN: Foot. Dice still doesn’t drive, which suits her fine. She does all she can to reduce her carbon footprint, and from what I understand about New Yorkers, they’re all big pedestrians.

Being alone or being stuck with someone you hate?

SIN: Alone. My lady does not suffer fools.

DICE: Alone. Sin’s spent a lot of time alone, so he’s used to it. And I can’t imagine a worse hell for anyone than being stuck with an asshole.

Coffee or hot chocolate?

DICE: Coffee. He’s a fiend.

SIN: Any other time that morning, Dice would choose hot chocolate. My lady has a sweet tooth. You do know of her Cocoa-Puffs obsession?

Pen or pencil? 

SIN: Pencil. A year ago, I would have said pen, since Dice believes in loyalty and would want it in ink. The things she struggles with in SWEAR, however, may lead her reassess her perspective on promises.

DICE: Pencil. Sin is…let’s just say he’s prone to mistakes. He’d want the erase option.

Black, white or gray?

DICE: Sin is prone to extremes, and he definitely has a dark side, so: Black.

SIN: Gray. Dice is adept at recognizing and navigating the gray areas of existence.

Now or then?

DICE: Sin is not nostalgic. He’d say now.

SIN: Now. For the first time, Dice and I have an opportunity to be together without an agenda. She is enjoying it—and so am I.

What one quality do you admire about the other? 

DICE: Sin appreciates what he calls my nobility. Though to me, it’s just honesty. I say what I mean; I mean what I say. My game is no game.

SIN: Dice enjoys my innocence. Don’t laugh! I’ll not deny that I’m a man of some experience, and there have been times I’ve felt compelled to…scheme, I suppose. But my approach to life, especially its pleasures, is most natural, ingenuous.

What is the other’s biggest fear?

DICE: Sin fears injustice. He’s been on the receiving end, and it’s awful.

SIN: Lies. Dice would prefer a brutal truth to a tender lie.

*~~~*~~~*
Nina Malkin is the author of five YA novels, one novella, and an adult memoir.  Before turning to books, Nina was a journalist specializing in entertainment, pop culture, and lifestyles.  She has held executive positions as an editor and writer at CosmopolitanElle, and Teen People, and her work has appeared in Entertainment WeeklyThe New York TimesSeventeenReal SimpleIn Style, and numerous other publications.  A New York native, Nina lives in Brooklyn with her musician husband and assorted felines.  Find out more at ninamalkin.com and follow her on Twitter at @SwoonAuthor.

*~~~*~~~*
Giveaway Time!

I'm offering up a SIGNED Swoon and SIGNED Swear to two lucky people (1 person will get Swoon, the other Swear) I want to thank Nina Malkin for the interview and Simon and Schuster for providing the novels!

Rules:
  • US giveaway only (sorry, international folks! Next contest will be international though)
  • Must fill out form
  • Must be 13 years or older
  • May only enter once


Good luck and swoon on!

Book Review: Swoon by Nina Malkin

Swoon by Nina Malkin


Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416974342
ISBN-13: 978-1416974345
Series: Swoon #1
Source: Purchased from Borders
Cover: I really like this cover. It's not the most swoon-worthy out there but it definitely draws my eye to it. I think it's the dark purples and blues mixed with the pink lettering and lips.
First Sentence: "Love at first sight must be glorious."


Mini-Review: A steamy and sexy physiological thrill ride that will have its reader blushing and swooning in equal parts!


Summary:


Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him -- but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent -- and irresistible -- adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.




What do you do when the boy of your dreams is too bad to be true?
Review


Swoon illicits some very strong reactions in people. There are very few novels I know where people generally either really hate it or really love it. I've figured out why. The material is most definitely racy and people can't believe it's a teen book. I understand that reaction. But Swoon isn't a teen book. It's one of those novels that is written about teens, not for teens. Looking at Swoon from this perspective allowed me to enjoy every guilty pleasure moment of it!

I think Candice "Dice" is such a fascinating lead and not someone you see often. She sort of does her own thing no matter what's going on and I really enjoyed how intelligent she was. She knew that the things Sin was doing were bad but she also could understand the reasoning behind them. I wish she'd pushed a little harder to stop him, especially once things started getting really dangerous but it was interesting to have a main character look at it from both perspectives. Dice really is unlike any other character I've encountered before in YA and her view point is just so different. But it's different in a way that had me interested to read more. 

And then there is Sinclair Youngblood Powers. He's, well, I'm not sure there is a word to describe what he is. When we first run across him as a ghost, he really don't seem like a bad guy. But then he starts forcing Pen (Dice's cousin Penelope) to do a lot of things really out of her character and I found it hard to figure out the divide between both of Sin's personalities. His story for wanting revenge made sense but I wish I'd known a little bit more about why he wanted to take revenge on a town that didn't even have the same people who hurt him. So I guess it comes down to this: Did I buy it? Not really. I didn't really understand how the over sexualized urges of people were really hindering the town. Did it make for an interesting story: Hell yes, it did. I had no idea what kind of mischief he was going to weave next and how it was going to effective the town.

I liked the overall feel of the small town of Swoon. I've heard complaints of all the shortened names: Dice, Sin, Pen, Marsh, No, Way-- but that's what was popular in the town. It's what this group of teenagers did and I felt like it added a lot of charm to the city. I also liked the juxtaposition of Ruby and Dice's old life sliding into her new one in Swoon to show that she is suppressing something. While the author made it pretty easy to figure what it was, it was still so chilling and sad when we finally found out what happened. 

There is both drug use and sex scenes in this novel. I've seen both used in YA before because, let's face it, kids are doing both. But I haven't seen it used as much and as freely as in Swoon before. I guess since I knew about it before hand, I wasn't as surprised as others to see it in there. While some of the sex scenes are VERY erotic, it sort of felt like a guilty pleasure thing to me. Sure, there was a healthy amount of shock value there but it's the kind that should be there because it is serving a greater purpose. We've definitely seen characters as bad as Sin before but perhaps just not as naughty.

Malkin's writing is at times a little jolting. I'd find myself going back to re-read the ending of a chapter to make sure I didn't miss something then go back just to realize that the next chapter really did just skip to something completely different. But over all, Malkin masterfully weaves in a brand new kind of monster mythology into something steamy, sensual and all it's own. 

Surprising, sexy and full of shockingly naughty characters, Swoon really was a guilty pleasure I couldn't put down. It's definitely not a novel for everyone but as long as you remember that it's about teens and not for them and you enjoy a good steamy romance, I'd say to give it a shot. I dare you not to swoon and you can bet Sin will love watching you squirm!

Rating:

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Time Will Come (21):Evernight by Claudia Gray


The Time Will Come is a weekly meme started by Books for Company which spotlights books that have been sitting unread on our shelves for too long.*


Want to join in?
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post telling us about the book
- Link the post up in the linky at Books for Company
- Visit the other blogs!

Evernight by Claudia Gray
Bianca wants to escape. 

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in. 
Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him. 
"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would." 
But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.
I originally picked this novel up because I went to a Claudia Gray signing but I haven't had the time to read it. It's a shame really because I devoured Fateful. Hopefully I'll get to it sometime very soon!
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