31 August 2013

Book Blitz: First Kiss by Cindy M. Hogan



Thank you Xpresso Book Tours for hosting this feature!

First Kiss
Title: First Kiss.
Series: Confessions of a 16-Year-Old Virgin Lips, #1.
Author: Cindy M. Hogan.
Publication Date: July 3rd, 2013.
Publisher: O'neal Publishing.
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult.
Format: eBook.

Purchase


Amazon UK Amazon US

VL. Virgin Lips. You may not have heard of it, but where I live, it’s a thing with a card, even if it is a figurative card. I was Brooklyn Hill, certified virgin lips, and I planned on clinging to that figurative card with all I had—while dating as many of the hottest guys at school as I could.

Maybe that’s a bit strange. I mean, what teenage girl isn’t interested in kissing? Locking lips definitely interested me, but the drama that came with it didn’t. No kissing, no drama. Simple.

But on my sixteenth birthday, on my first real date even, the drama found me. His name was Luke Graham—cute, funny, and bad news for the whole female race.


 
Cindy M. Hogan

About Cindy M. Hogan


Website Good Reads Facebook

Cindy M. Hogan graduated with a secondary education teaching degree and enjoys spending time with unpredictable teenagers. More than anything she loves the time she has with her own teenage daughters and wishes she could freeze them at this fun age. If she's not reading or writing, you'll find her snuggled up with the love of her life watching a great movie or planning their next party. She loves to bake, garden and be outdoors doing a myriad of activities.


 

Excerpt


“Yes siree, the two of us will die old and decrepit, kiss-less…unless, of course,” he said with a flourish, “we find that special someone.”
Only Parker could get away with a speech like that and not come out looking like a total loser. I wondered why that was. Why some could get away with stuff and others couldn’t.
“Then you’ll be missing out on the best stuff in life,” Ty said. Ty was on the swim team with Parker and me and was known for his roving lips.
“Just ‘cause you’re a lip-slut, Ty,” Ali said, “doesn’t mean you can diss on those saving themselves for something special.”
“Ohhh!” Harrison said, “Ali’s on the war path tonight. You guys better be careful what you say!”
“From the mouth of the oldest VL in the group,” Ty shot back at Ali and splashed her with water.
I could tell she was blushing wildly even in the semi-darkness.
“Actually,” I said, “Ali isn’t in the club.”
“No way!” Parker called out. “Ali, you disappoint me.” He frowned in an exaggerated way.
Ali splashed me. “Thanks a lot, birthday girl.”
That started everyone telling about their first kisses.
Mike said, “I went away with sore teeth after my first kiss. Instead of leading with our lips, our teeth clacked hard against each others’. But don’t worry, Brooklyn, I’ve got all that worked out, now.”
Before I could be too embarrassed, Katherine spoke up. “Nobody’s first kiss was worse than mine. He was salivating so much it dripped down my chin.”
“Well, my first was amazing. After all, I am Ty.”
Alyssa scoffed, “Yeah right.”
“I’m serious. We were just sitting there, not talking, and all of a sudden—a shooting star streaked across the sky.” He shushed all the mocking and sounds of disbelief. “It totally happened! And then, it was like we were telepathically connected, we looked at each other and without even thinking about it, I kissed her, soft and slow. When we stopped, she asked me my wish was, and I said—‘I just got it.’”
All the girls in the group sighed wistfully. I was impressed. I had no idea Ty was such a romantic. Then he broke the spell. “And, man, her lips were so hot. I’ll never forget those lips.”
The girls all groaned and splashed him. “Typical!” Alyssa said, rolling her eyes.
A few more kids shared their first kiss stories. Most sounded awful. We were either laughing hysterically or completely grossed out during the conversation. I held hope that my first kiss would be dreamy, like Ty said his was.


 

29 August 2013

Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

Ink
Title: Ink.
Series: Paper Gods, #1.
Author: Amanda Sun.
Publication Date: July 5th, 2013.
Publisher: Mira Ink.
Genres: Mythology, Young Adult.
Format: Paperback, 384 pages.
Source: Provided By Publisher.
My Rating:
A MAGIC MIGHTIER THAN ANY SWORD
A DESTINY THAT CAN’T BE DENIED


Katie Greene is lost in the wake of her mum's death. Sent to Japan, she meets gorgeous but aloof artist Tomohiro, whose tough attitude intrigues and scares her. Then things get really strange. When they're near each other, Tomohiro's drawings start to come to life…

Soon the wrong people begin to ask questions, and Katie and Tomohiro must risk everything to protect the truth.

 

Review


First off, I would like to start off by saying that I am in LOVE with this cover – it’s absolutely stunning. I love how they’ve only switched the ink drawings around for the UK and US covers, it’s really clever. The entire book is gorgeous from front to back, and inside it also has some beautiful illustrations throughout it. Secondly, Ink was absolutely incredible and so unique – I’ve never read anything like it before! Even though I’m finding it a little bit hard to figure out whether my obsession with Japan and its culture is clouding my judgement slightly with this book – I still love it and quite frankly, I really don’t mind if it is!



Ink

Katie Greene is our main protagonist and quite suddenly she finds herself uprooted from her life in America when her mother dies and is sent to live with her Aunt in Japan. Katie has to deal with the anger and grief from her mother’s death and deal with the sudden culture change. I think she’s an incredible character, because she deals with all these things so well! In Ink, we don’t learn much about Katie’s appearance apart from the fact that she has blonde hair and pale skin – I really like this, because I think it gives the individual reader the chance to create her character into pretty much anything they want too. Katie is just overall a funny, kind and fantastic character; I’d personally love to be her friend!



Katie is fascinated by Tomohiro, a boy in her school whose drawings seem to come alive when they’re together. I really loved Tomo, he was such an interesting character – stubborn, funny and would rather push someone he loves away to keep them safe than keep them by him and let them be hurt. I also loved Katie’s and Tomohiro’s relationship, it was lovely and grew steadily and slowly into something beautiful. I really liked the fact that they seemed to be really irritated by each other at first but grew to know each other - their relationship definitely wasn’t insta-love.



As I’m looking over Ink, searching for quotes and finalising my opinions for this review – I couldn’t help but notice how many times Katie used the expressions; ‘my heart stopped’, ‘my heart flipped over’ and ‘my heart was pounding’. As I didn’t seem to notice this whilst reading it, I don’t really think that it’s a flaw, but those phrases, or some other alternate phrase exactly like that were used a hell of a lot. To be perfectly honest I’m just surprised that Katie’s heart didn’t jump out of her chest and land on the table.



Overall, I really enjoyed reading Ink, it was a fantastic book! Amanda Sun’s writing is incredible and completely flawless in my opinion. I loved the little extra glossary of Japanese words at the end of the book, I think it gave it that great touch and will help people to understand and translate a lot of the Japanese used frequently throughout the novel. Even though I’m learning Japanese myself, and a lot of the sentences and words used were quite basic, I still found quite a few I didn’t know! I can’t wait to read the sequel to this book - I’m sure it’s going to be just as fantastic - and I can’t wait to see what happens to the characters and where the storyline goes. Amanda Sun is definitely an author to keep an eye on and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who loves mythological novels or books set in Japan.




Quotes


"They tell you you'll forget how it used to be," he said suddenly, and the sound of his voice startled me. "You'll get used to it, that it's better to move on. They don't realize you can't. You're not the same person anymore." - Page 81.


His fingers wound in my hair, the cloth wrapped around his wrist sliding along my collarbone as he moved. I reached for him, letting my hands trails along his jaw and around his neck, twisting the spikes of his hair flat between my fingers. His feathery bands tickled against my skin as his kisses brushed against my lips, my cheek, the corner of my jaw. He trailed down to my neck. He was fireworks and radiance, glare and tingling frostbite. - Page 192.


"My heart was glass - easy to see through, simple to break." - Page 217.


28 August 2013

Waiting On Wednesday: Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano


 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Hey Book Nerds! :D How are you all doing today? I've been really enjoying all of the books I've been reading recently, and finished Ink by Amanda Sun the other day. It was a fantastic book and my review will probably be posted tomorrow! :D I'm currently reading the third book in the Soul Screamers series, My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent and I love it so far. I think the series is really fantastic, and if you've not read the first book, you really need too! Anyway, It's been a few weeks since I posted a Waiting On Wednesday post, mainly because I've just not been waiting on much at all. However, recently I've been adding a lot of books that are being released next year to my TBR pile on Good Reads. So I thought it was time to start sharing these again. :3 So, that's it for today, talk again soon. ^.^



 



Nearly Gone
Title: Nearly Gone.
Author: Elle Cosimano.
Expected Publication: March 25th, 2014.
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books.
Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Young Adult.

Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession with the personal ads, and especially the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin.

But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school—a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance. . . on her. Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it all out soon—she'll be next.

 

Thoughts


Okay, HOLY COW! This looks like an absolutely fantastic book! As I've said countless times before, I'm a huge sucker for murder mystery books, or just mystery books in general - so this one really looks like it'll be incredible. :) As for the cover, I really like it! It's so simple, and I love the font and the close up shot of her mouth and wet hair. Although I'm not really sure what the significance of the numbers in the word 'Nearly' is, I'm sure once I read it I'll find out though! :D What do you guys think of the looks of this book, have you heard of it before? :) Let me know! ^.^


 


What are you "Waiting On" this Wednesday? Leave me a comment or a link to your blog post and I'll be sure to check it out! :D Happy Reading. (:

27 August 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Memorable Secondary Characters


 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.


Hey Book Nerds! :) Sorry for my being so absent from the blog lately, but I've been really distracted setting up the new layout. What do you guys think of it? :) I love it! I think it turned out really well. There may be a few extra things I want to tweak, but everything seems to be running fine at the moment. ^.^ Anyway, for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I only managed to come up with eight out of the ten. However, I still think it's good! :D I may be a little biased about some of these, mainly because most of them are the love-interests in books that I just loved but oh well! ;) I hope you all had a great weekend and that you're having a good week so far. Talk soon! ^.^


 

Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters






 



 


What are your Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters? Leave me a comment or a link to your blog post and I'll be sure to check it out! ^.^ Happy reading! (:

21 August 2013

Review: Teacher's Pest by Charles Gilman

Teacher's Pest
Title: Teacher's Pest.
Series: Tales from Lovecraft Middle School, #3.
Author: Charles Gilman.
Publication Date: May 7th, 2013.
Publisher: Quirk Books.
Genres: Paranormal, Middle Grade.
Format: Hardback, 170 pages.
Source: Provided By Publisher.
My Rating:
DON'T BE FOOLED by his friendly smile, his perfect manners, or his shiny red apple. Student council president Howard Mergler is actually a sinister bug-monster in disguise—and he's summoning swarms of roaches, wasps, fleas, and head lice into the corridors of Lovecraft Middle School! Twelve-year-old Robert Arthur is the only student who can stop him--but he'll need help from his best friends: the school bully, the school ghost, and an extremely courageous two-headed rat.

This third novel in the Lovecraft Middle School series begins right where Professor Gargoyle and The Slither Sisters ended—with more action, more adventure, and more outrageous monsters!

 

Review


Once again, everyone needs to appreciate how awesome the covers in this series are! I didn’t actually realise how much I’d missed reading this series until I sat down and started reading Teacher’s Pest. I just love everything about this series and I think that this particular book is my favourite so far! I sat down one evening and just kept reading until I finished it, I just couldn’t put it down! Whilst reading Teacher’s Pest, my skin was crawling and I kept shuddering at the thought of all those nasty bugs – god forbid if anything like that actually happened in real life! The illustrations throughout the book are beautifully done and help set the scene really well – they add that extra bit of creepiness to the book that I just love.



The character development was even greater in this book than the last, and I felt like Charles Gilman was really pushing himself and became more daring with his writing. Throughout the first two books, nothing is really mentioned about Glenn’s family life, and I loved how we learn a little more about his background in Teacher’s Pest. Robert himself is so much more confident and daring in this book, and I’ve loved seeing him develop from a shy boy, to someone who’ll go jumping into the action to save his friends. With all the things Robert and his friends Glenn and Karina have gone through – I’m sure they’ll all be friends for life.



I also loved how it’s was a little more difficult to get away from the bad guys in this book. When they thought they’d gotten past one obstacle, they found another! Sometimes, especially in children’s books, the main protagonist gets away so easily that it’s not believable – but in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series, it’s always a little more complex – which is really great. I found myself on the edge of the seat because I honestly had no idea what would happen next – my verbal commentary were words along the lines of ‘What?’, ‘Yuck! Gross!’ and ‘RUN!’ that I kept muttering and yelling to myself.



Charles Gilman’s writing is funny, quirky, unique and so much fun to read. His characters are interesting to read about and relatable in so many different ways that you just can’t help but love them! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m really enjoying this series as a whole – I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book! I definitely recommend this book and series to anyone, even if you’re an adult and don’t think you’ll enjoy them, I really believe a lot of adults will really enjoy them as well – I know I am.



Quotes


"Maybe this will stop them." Robert removed a bottle of water from his backpack and poured some on the wall, washing away dozens of ants in a miniature tidal wave.
The rest of the army immediately changed course. Now, instead of marching towards the wall, they marched toward Robert. A few of the ants scaled his sneakers, and he kicked them loose.
"They’re coming to get me, Karina!" he laughed. "Help!" - Page 25.


"Every time I think this can't get more disgusting," Karina said, "the school finds new ways to surprise me."
"They can't touch you, and you can't touch them," Robert reminded her.
"But they're all touching me," Glenn chimed in. - Page 127.


Karina turned to Robert. "Remember when I said I only hated spiders? And other bugs didn’t bother me very much?"
"Yeah?"
"I was wrong about that." - Page 149.


20 August 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier


 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.


Hey Book Nerds! :3 How are you all doing today? I'm doing well; in case any of you were curious. ;) I've been doing a lot of reading lately; I started reading and finished reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater the other day and I absolutely adored it - it made me cry. I gave it 5/5 stars! The same evening I finished reading Shiver, i picked up Teacher's Pest by Charles Gilman, which is the third book in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series and I finished it that night. It was definitely my favourite of the series so far, I gave it 4/5 stars and my review will be posted either tomorrow or on Thursday - so keep an eye out for that. :) Lastly, I’d like to say that very soon my new layout for my blog will be up - sorry it's taken so long, I’ve just been so distracted lately. I hope you all have a great week! :D


 

Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier



  • 1. Good Reads.

  • I'm pretty sure that everyone will be putting this down on their TTT post, but for me it's been so helpful! I love how I can find a synopsis of a book so quickly, read reviews by people (and my friends) and post my own reviews, too. I also love being able to just add books to my TBR list, and go back later on and look them all over. And finally, I love how Good Reads will tell you what number a book is in a series - so I'll never accidentally buy the second or third book in a series again!



  • 2. Amazon.

  • I'm constantly finding so many great deals on Amazon, and I nearly always buy my books used! I can buy books for under £3 a piece and now I refuse to pay full price for books - the retail prices just seem so expensive in comparison. It's also a great thing for me too, because I can navigate the site and choose the American editions of books if I want too! Or just a different cover if there's one available. I love Amazon!



  • 3. Book-Tubers.

    I'm also a book-tuber myself, but I find watching other book-tubers videos so helpful! I love watching book hauls - I always seem to come away from watching the video with at least one of their books that I want to read added to my TBR list. It's not just the hauls though, usually hearing about their opinions on books (particularly ones I don't know if I want to read) will always help sway my opinion to the yes or no pile.



  • 4. Meme's.

  • If you're like me, and find it hard to come up with posts for your blog - then you'll know it's kind of stressful! Sometimes I have lots of ideas, and other weeks and I have zero. Nada. Nothing! So I find meme's really great and fun to participate in! They give you a topic to focus on for that day/week and give your viewers content that you might not have posted otherwise. They're also great for helping build up traffic to your blog, because you can comment/and/or leave your link to your blog post on the original creator’s post where others can see it! Good old meme's, you've yet of fail me...



  • 5. Microsoft Word.

  • This one is aimed at the book blogger part of me. Overall, I'm a really good speller and I can be a bit of a Grammar Nazi at times - I just don't like deliberately illiterate people. However, when I'm blogging or writing my reviews, I’m typing away furiously, trying to get all my thoughts, opinions and other useful things down before I forget them all. It's not until I copy and paste what I've written into word, or re-read what I've written that I find that there's usually a least a few spelling mistakes and poor grammar. Thank god for Microsoft word, which easily picks up on all these little faults and I can go back over it and redo them. I don't know where I'd be without it.



  • 6. NetGalley.

  • NetGalley is an awesome website where book reviewers can get their hands on soon-to-be-released books. I know a lot of people use Edelweiss, but because I live in the United Kingdom, a lot of publishers can't send me eGalleys for copyright reasons. It's also great because, if you're like me, I get very impatient waiting for books to be released. You can share your feedback with the publisher who allowed you to read the copy as well - so it's all great fun!



  • 7. Corel Paintshop Pro & Photoshop.

  • I use a mixture of Corel's Paintshop Pro X3 and Photoshop for all sorts of things to do with my blog, from the layout to any banners for posts. I've been using both these programs for over 9 years and they never fail to amaze me with how much can be done with them!



  • 8. Charity Shops

  • I'm always buying books from charity shops, not only does the money go towards a good cause, but they also sell books for really cheap! I love searching the shops and coming across great bargains for books I really want to read. Who could possibly turn down a book for £1.50 or £2.00? I know I can't! :D



  • 9. Blogger.

  • As much as I like the look of Wordpress, at how sleek and smart everything looks - I just don't think it's the blogging platform for me at the moment. I love to customise everything about my blog, and write my own coding and CSS - and unfortunately, you can't do that on blogger unless you pay for a yearly package. In the future, I will be buying my own domain name (I've done it lots of times in the past) and will probably move to Wordpress, until then; blogger provides everything I need, especially the ability to code everything myself - which is a must for me!



  • 10. You Guys!

  • I wouldn't be where I am today with my blog if it weren't for all of you! I love hearing all of your feedback and opinions, and it makes my life as a book reader AND book blogger so much easier. So, thank you so much guys. You are my inspiration! (Wow, that sounds cheesy...)


 


What are your Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier? Leave me a comment or a link to your blog post and I'll be sure to check it out! ^.^ Happy reading! (:

19 August 2013

Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Confessions of an Angry Girl
Title: Confessions of an Angry Girl.
Series: Confessions, #1.
Author: Louise Rozett.
Publication Date: January 4th, 2012.
Publisher: Mira Ink.
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult.
Format: Paperback, 266 pages.
Source: Provided By Publisher.
My Rating:
This is a story about Rose.
About the occasional panic attack and being fourteen in the suburbs without a mobile phone.
Read it and weep.

Rose’s first year at Union High isn’t exactly going to plan. Her family’s broken, her supposed best friend’s going boy crazy and Rose is so far behind socially that she might as well be moving backwards.

Until her brother’s best friend Jamie offers her a ride home – and a way into the world of his popular clique – if only it weren’t for his perfect cheerleader girlfriend. Now Rose is learning how to climb the wobbly high-school ladder, while struggling to hang on to what matters most...

 


Review


This book was a really quick and easy read for me – and I really enjoyed reading it. Louise Rozett’s writing is fun and absorbing, yet she’s still able to convey across some serious and important points as well. There are a few important lessons stressed throughout Confessions of an Angry Girl, but the main one was about having safe sex – and making sure you and your partner both respect each other before you do it. I think Louise handled writing this really well, and it didn’t seem to feel like she was lecturing the reader about these things, but still managed to stress the importance of them – which I thought was really well done.



Confessions of an Angry Girl

Rose is our main protagonist in Confessions of an Angry girl, and only a few months previous had to bury her father, who was killed serving in the military. Rose is angry at the entire world, at her brother for leaving her to go to college and at her mum for being emotionally absent since her dad’s death. All of Rose’s emotions were so raw and rough, I felt like I could actually feel the things she was feeling even though I’ve never been her situation. I really liked Rose’s character, she was funny, witty and smart – but she also annoyed me a little bit too. I hated the way she treated her friend, Robert throughout the book. Robert may be a little over enthusiastic with his feelings for Rose – but he seemed really sweet and kind. Even though Rose didn’t have any feelings for Robert, I wish she’d just told him, rather than leading him on and then being extremely rude to him. I hate people like this, and her actions and the way she spoke to him really irritated me. I did think it was really interesting to see all the different sides of Rose though; her angry side, her vulnerable side and occasionally her happy side. She had so many emotions building up inside her, swirling together and creating chaos that I’m surprised she didn’t snap sooner.



Rose’s best friend, Tracy, has been friends with Rose since they were little kids and they did everything together – that is, until she gets a boyfriend and joins the cheerleading squad. I really didn’t like Tracy at all, to me; she seemed like such a bitch. Tracy didn’t want to listen to Rose when she warns her about the true intentions of her boyfriend – and this infuriated me. When you stop listening to your best friend, or don’t believe her for some reason – that’s when you know she’s not as good of a friend to you as you are to her. It really hurt me to read how Rose was coping with this, as I have personal experience in the matter. I believe Rose deserved much better than Tracy, but at the end of the day – it may just be me getting overly sensitive.



I had mixed feelings about Jamie, Rose’s brother’s friend – and the guy Rose has a crush on. I love a bad boy character, especially if they’re as mysterious and cool as Jamie – however, I also find it a little irritating when a male guy tells the girl they really like (and who likes them back for that matter), that ‘I’m not good for you’ or ‘I’m not right for you’ – it really irks me, mainly because; who are they to tell them what’s right for them? It’s not right for them to decide that for them, I think the girl needs to figure it out for herself. You don’t learn a whole lot about Jamie’s character, apart from the fact that he’s artistic, but I kind of like that, but I kind of don’t at the same time – let’s hope we learn more about him in the sequel!



Overall, I really did enjoy this book – it was such an inspiring and interesting read. I’m not overly sure why I can’t rate it a 5/5 star rating, probably because it wasn’t one of those books that blows me away, but I did love Confessions of an Angry Girl. I honestly think this book well and truly earned the 4/5 star rating I gave it and Louise Rozett’s writing is fantastic. I can’t wait to read more from Louise in the future and see where the story goes in the sequel to this book!




Quotes


And suddenly I can see the future so clearly I can’t believe I couldn’t see it before. There is no room for me in this world of vodka and cheer-witches, which is fine, because I don’t want to be in it anyway. At least, I don’t think I do. But is it possible that, even though we’ve been friends since before we could read, Tracy and I might not make it through this year? - Page 63.


The next minute happens in slow motion. Jamie Forta turns to me, puts his warm hand on my neck, and pulls me toward him. It dawns on me that he is about to kiss me, and I panic because I’ve never kissed an older man - I’ve never kissed anyone for real, only while playing stupid games at junior high school parties – and he surely must know everything there is to know because he’s wiser and he’s a bad boy and he gets around and I’m just a silly little girl and none of that matters because his lips are on mine and it’s so easy I can hardly believe I was worried I wouldn’t know what to do. - Page 115.


My dad is in our kitchen, his crazy hair sticking straight up, wearing his favourite striped T-shirt and glaring at the photographer over the top of his coffee mug. If it weren’t for a tiny smile on his mouth, he’d look mad, but I can tell he’s just kidding. The photo makes me laugh a little, and I know it’s totally wrong for the site, but it’s the perfect place-holder for now. - Page 172.


17 August 2013

August 2013 Book Haul


 

Hey book nerds! ^.^ How are you all doing? As you all may have noticed; my Stacking The Shelves posts are no more... ;_; It's such a shame, but written in the terms and conditions on me having my new bookcase (set by my parents), I have to cut down drastically on how many books I buy per week. My limit is 2 books - so I'm going to be doing monthly book hauls instead! There may be more than one a month, depending on the books I receive from publishers, but that's the lot. Sorry! ^^; Anyway, I hope you're all having a great week so far and I'll post again soon! :)


 

Video


 

Photos And Book Information




Magic Study (Study, #2) by Maria V. Snyder.
Fire Study (Study, #3) by Maria V. Snyder.


A BIG thanks to Mira Ink, which is an imprint of Harlequin publishing who went me both of these books for review. ^.^ I can't wait to read them. :)






Cross The Line by Jeannie Waudby.
Forevermore by Cindy Miles.





You Don't Know Me by Sophia Bennett.
The Drowning by Rachel Ward.


A BIG thanks to Chicken House Publishing who gave me these four books (when I intereviewed Tina) for review. ^.^ I can't wait to read them. :)





I was also given all these cool posters of upcoming releases from Chicken House Publishing.. They're all so cool! :) Now to find a places to put them all... :P







A BIG thanks to the author, Daria Snadowsky, who sent me these copies of her books for review. :) They look great and I'm excited to start them! :D





Losing It (Losing It, #1) by Cora Carmack.
Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt.










Immortal (Immortal, #1) by Gillian Shields.
Hourglass (Hourglass, #1) by Myra McEntire.

 

E-books Bought





Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens.
The Lily House by Marcia Dean Pfaff.
Eternal Vows (The Ruby Ring, #1) by Chrissy Peebles.
The Girl from Yesterday (The Blood Dynasty Chronicles, #1) by David L. Dawson.




Darkwood by C.B. Cole.
Hidden Moon (The Keeper Saga, #1) by K.R. Thompson.
The Unearthly (The Unearthly Series, #1) by Laura Thalassa.
Dark Promise (Between Worlds, #1) by Julia Crane & Talia Jager.


 

Thoughts


I LIKE LOTS OF BOOKS AND I CAN NOT LIE! ;D I'm really excited about continuing on with the Study series by Maria V. Snyder, I loved the first book - and I need to find out what happens to Yelena. :3 I'm also really excited about having my hands on copies of Two-Way Street and Hourglass - I've heard some amazing things about both of them! :D As for the eBooks, they were all freebies at the time I purchased them from Amazon! Go see if they still are. :3 I am in LOVE with the cover for Dark Promise - it's STUNNING! So pretty.. :3 Have you read any of these books? Let me know! ^.^


 


What books have you brought or received lately? Leave me a comment or a link to your blog post and I'll be sure to check it out. ^.^ Happy reading! (:

15 August 2013

Q&A: Tina From Chicken House Publishing


 


Hey Book Nerds! ^.^ Sorry about the delay of this post, I've been really busy for some reason and too tired to start typing up this post. Bad Tiffa! So, the other week I met up for a coffee with Tina, who works for Chicken House Publishing, and she was lovely enough to answer a few of my questions! :) I had a great time chatting with Tina about her work and about books in general. :3 Anyway, this is going to be a VERY long post, so grab a snack and hopefully you'll enjoy at least some of this interview. Don't forget to let me know your thoughts! :D Lastly, a big thanks to Caroline (@CazLFCGleek) for helping me come up with some of these questions! :)


 

Interview



  • Q: What is it like to work in Chicken House or just the publishing industry in general?
    A: It's fantastic! I get to see every process of the books we print; from the manuscript to print! It's great to see the journey and see it being created step-by-step. Usually, if you were working in a larger publishing company, you wouldn't get to see all the different stages. Also, If there are movie adaptations of the books we publish, it’s great fun to be part of the excitement for the upcoming film, especially knowing we published the original book.




  • Q: What is the atmosphere at work like?
    A: There's a lot of tea drinking! We ordered a huge bag of teabags, I'm pretty sure there's enough to last us three more years. It's really fun and creative in a way; it's also a lot of hard work! It sometimes feels like you're on a treadmill, running as fast as you can, but not getting anywhere. But it's got a great atmosphere.




  • Q: I know Chicken House generally publishes books for younger readers, is there a particular reason for this?
    A: Mainly because it's so popular! Now days, lots of authors are just writing YA and children's books because the popularity of them has increased. You seem to see YA and Children's books everywhere you go now days, and it's great to be able to publish some of them!




  • Q: I know a lot of adults still read YA novels; do you like to read the ones you publish?
    A: Yes! Definitely! The market for YA isn't just for teens anymore. The average age group of people who read YA now days are between the ages of 22-34. Two of my colleagues especially inhale YA books constantly!




  • Q: Are you spotting any new trends in book genres lately?
    A: Definitely Dystopia. I think Dystopian Fiction’s popularity seems to come in waves. One minute you hear that it’s the next thing big thing. The next minute it’s apparently ‘dead’. But at the moment it’s a pretty popular genre...




  • Q: What are your relationships like with the authors?
    A: The authors are really close with their editors, but we're really close to them as well! This is mainly because we all care about their book, and want to see it through to the very end. We're also very involved with organising publicity for them, by sending emails and parcels out. I know they appreciate all the work we put into it, we even get acknowledged in their books sometimes!




  • Q: What is the most rewarding thing about working in publishing?
    A: Hearing what books mean to people is extremely rewarding! It's easy to get caught up in work and forget the reader until the last minute and then we start getting praise and hear how reading affects people. I also love how we have the ability to help turn kids to reading, it's fantastic.




  • Q: How many submissions do you receive on average per month from authors?
    A: Well, about two years ago we stopped receiving unsolicited work from authors. If you include the competitions we hold for aspiring new authors; probably over 100 submissions each month.




  • Q: Are there any genres you desperately want authors to send to you?
    A: We're always on the lookout for books from the 7-10 age group. I believe it's a very challenging and tough age group to write about, and authors at the moment tend to follow to the wave of current releases. There's no genre in particular, but I'd love to be able to read more submissions from that category.




  • Q: Do you think children are reading more of less than in previous years?
    A: Unfortunately I think it's probably gone down recently. There seems to be a lot of annoying talk that 'boys don't read', which I think isn’t true! There's also a lot more competition in todays society, along with school pressure and other general stress. It's such a shame!




  • Q: Are there certain things you hate in books?
    A: I really don't like clichés. A lot of authors nowadays want to create characters that are different, so they think, 'what's different?', and the come up with a red headed, feisty female protagonist or a boy with a lopsided grin and two different colour eyes. I feel like a lot of the characters I've read about lately are just so alike and usually very gangly - I think we need some different characters with unique personalities.




  • Q: And finally, do you have any advice for aspiring new authors/writers?
    A: Be a reader, not just a writer! I've often come across authors who write because they want to 'teach' children - I don't think this is a good way to make your mark. If you want to set out to teach people something, do it subtly, and don't shove it in their faces! Just start writing; you're not a writer until you actually write. And finally, write for your inner self and just keep going! :)


 


Another big thanks to Tina for answering all my questions! Let me know your opinions and thoughts on any of the questions raised in this Q&A. ^.^ Happy Reading! (:


13 August 2013

Review: Thirty-Two Going On Spinster by Becky Monson

Thirty-Two Going On Spinster
Title: Thirty-Two Going On Spinster.
Author: Becky Monson.
Publication Date: December 12th, 2012.
Publisher: Create Space.
Genres: Contemporary, Adult.
Format: Paperback, 348 pages.
Source: Provided By Author.
My Rating:
Julia Dorning is a spinster, or at least on the road to becoming one. She has no social life, hates her job, and lives in her parent’s basement with her cat, Charlie.

With the arrival of Jared Moody, the new hire at work, Julia’s mundane life is suddenly turned upside down. Her instant (and totally ridiculous) crush on the new guy causes Julia to finally make some long-overdue changes, in hopes to find a life that includes more than baking and hanging out with Charlie.

But when the biggest and most unexpected change comes, will the new and improved Julia be able to overcome it? Or will she go back to her spinster ways?

 

Review


I was e-mailed by Becky Monson asking whether I’d like a copy of her novel for review – at first, I was sure I was going to say no. The typical genres I read are usually young-adult and new adult fiction, and I’ve always had this block against adult books in general, mainly because I just don’t find them interesting at all. I also find that my concentration just wavers and I feel like I’d rather be reading anything but an adult book. However, when I read the synopsis, I decided it was really time for me to broaden my horizons with my reading and start reading more adult literature. I was really pleasantly surprised about how much I loved reading this book, I loved how; when I was reading Thirty-Two Going On Spinster, I seemed to forget that it was an adult book I was reading. Even though I was apprehensive about starting this novel, I’m glad to say my worries were not warranted and I thoroughly enjoyed it!



Thirty-Two Going On Spinster

Julie Dorning is our main protagonist and she’s recently come to the conclusion that she is, in fact, a spinster. I loved Julia’s character; she was really funny, witty and interesting to read about. Although she is actually thirty-two, it definitely didn’t feel like I was reading about a woman her age. She seemed more like a 20 year old, and I really loved this – especially as I have a hard time relating to characters over the age of about 26. The one thing that annoyed me about Julia’s character though, was her repetitiveness – she was constantly whining about the same things, and this really annoyed me. If you don’t like something, you should try and change it – thankfully though, Julia did get her butt in gear and start to change her life. I loved her determination to be something better than her current self.



Jared Moody is the main love interest throughout Thirty-Two Going On Spinster, and to be honest – I had mixed feelings about him. When he was first introduced to the book, I didn’t like him at all; he seemed way too cocky and kind of rude – especially with all the smirking he does. However, as the book progresses, you learn that it’s a playful smirk, and definitely not a ‘I’m so much better than you, plus I stole your job’ smirk. Once you got to know his character, he seemed really sweet and fun to be around. I also loved how Jared’s and Julia’s relationship grew gradually, and there was definitely no sign of insta-love, thank god! I also found myself giggling along with Julia when it came to talking about Jared, it did just seem like we were both a couple of teenagers chatting about her first crush.



One other thing that really did irritate me was the continual use of the word ‘Yah’. For one, it’s not a word! Secondly, who says that? No one I know, or anyone else I’ve met uses it. (Unless maybe you’re from Texas? Even so...) It wouldn’t have been that difficult to actually put ‘Yeah’, it’s one letter more! Not only was Julia constantly saying it, but the rest of the characters, too – meaning it wasn’t just a word that the main character used. I’m not getting at the author, everyone has their own style of writing, but these reviews are supposed to be my own, honest opinion. With me, you get the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Sorry if this offends you – but I just wish that it wasn’t there.



Overall though, I thought this book was really great! It was funny, interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. Becky Monson’s writing is lovely, and her characters fantastic and really relatable to. Because of how much I enjoyed reading this novel, I may actually try to read more chick-lit in the future – which is something I’ve been refusing to do for years! There were a few little things that bugged me about the novel, which I’ve mentioned – these are the reasons it didn’t get the 5/5 star rating I hoped to give it. However, I do think that Thirty-Two Going On Spinster well and truly deserved the 4 star rating I gave it, and I can’t wait to read more from Becky in the future. She’s definitely an author to keep an eye on!



Quotes


I stand close by the door to make sure I don’t hear words like “fire” or “terminate” or “crazy stapler lady”. But I can only catch tidbits of their conversation. I can hear Mr. Calhoun say “in accounting” and something like “no need to worry” and I swear he says “has great cupcakes”. I never knew him to be such a perv. Wait, he probably said “makes great cupcakes”. That would make much more sense. Mr. Calhoun is a huge fan of my homemade cupcakes. Leave it to cupcakes to save my job. - Page 29.


What the... What is that?????
Oh my gosh, please no. Please noooooooooo!!!
There’s a scab. There’s a scab on my upper lip. I totally forgot about the moustache waxing debacle from last night! This is not happening. Please say this is not happening.
It’s not a small scab, either. It’s a long, thin, brownish scab above my upper lip.
I look... like... Hitler. - Page 71.


“I wouldn’t want to leave here, though. I mean look at all this space,” I motion to the room with hand. “You’ve got a huge desk, nice big windows... I would stay here as long as I could.”
He smiles at me and swivels his chair towards me. “Yes, and you never know who I might find under this table.” He taps his fingers on the conference room table and gives me his best smirk.
“Yes, you never know who,” I say, trying to act cool and praying I don’t blush. Ugh, too late. - Page 206.


8 August 2013

Wrap-Up: July 2013


 

Hey book nerds! ^.^ I'm so sorry that this post is so late this month, my internet connection has been a little skwiffy (not a word..) and I can only upload videos early in the morning. This means I have to wake up early to set them to upload and I've just been distracted - sorry! D: Anyway, I think I had a pretty good reading month. It may not have been as good as last month, but oh well. ;) Can you believe it's already August? Where has the year gone?! Anyway, that's it for today - talk again soon! :D


 

Video


 

Books Read In July 2013


  • The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa.

  • Heist Society by Ally Carter.

  • The Slither Sisters by Charles Gilman.

  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

  • The Scorch Trials by James Dashner.

  • Parallel by Lauren Miller.

  • Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

  • Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.

  • This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers.


 
Total: 9 books read.
Click on the link to be taken to the review.

What books did you read in July 2013? Don't forget to leave me a comment or a link to your blog post and I'll be sure to check it out! ^.^ Happy Reading! (:

6 August 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels


 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.


Hey Book Nerds! ^.^ I hope you're all doing well. (: Sorry for the lateness of this post, I started working on it last night - and completely forgot about it until now because the carpet man came and turned our house upside down. :P However, EVERYTHING is back in place now, and I'm waiting for my grandparents to come over - my mum is going to be showing off the new carpet. xD She's a bit weird like that! I couldn't quite manage to make it to ten for this weeks Top Ten Tuesday, but it doesn't matter, I hope you enjoy. :3 Anyway, that's it for today - I hope you've all had a great weekend! :D


 

Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels





  • 1. Hollow Pike by James Dawson.

  • I adored this book and it did have a great ending, but I would have LOVED it to have a sequel. I’d love to read about how the characters end up dealing with their magic issues. I’d just love to read anything more from James Dawson, even if it’s not these characters!





  • 2. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger.

  • The DUFF was one of my favourite books of 2012, but I REALLY wish I could read more about these characters! It's a wonderful stand-alone book, but I NEED MORE of Bianca and Wes, I loved their relationship - it was amazing. I really wish I had a relationship like theirs, it makes me go all giggly and act like an idiot. I loved it! :D





  • 3. Flawed by Kate Avelyn.

  • This book had me in tears and it killed me, it really did! This was another one of my favourite books, and I'm dying to find out what happens to Sarah after the novel ended. Maybe we could just have a novelette for after the book finishes? No? ;_; My heart is breaking..





  • 4. The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith.

  • I just need to know whether this couple’s love at first sight lasts! I loved the characters in this book, and the romance was so cute. It'd be great to have a sequel and to see where they both end up. Are they still together? If not, why? If so, can we please read more about their adorable relationship? ;)





  • 5. The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong.

  • This is by far one of my favourite trilogies! The ending for this book was great, but I do REALLY want another book or two in this series. I love the main character, Chloe - she's awesome, and Derek and Simon are fantastic! I need to find out what happens AFTER the last book ends and see how Derek’s and Chloe’s relationship develop. :3





  • 6. Dead To You by Lisa McMann.

  • The ending of this book absolutely killed me! I had no idea when I went into reading this book that it would end the way it did. This being; Lisa, can you PLEASE write a sequel to your awesome novel and let us know what happens to the characters? Thank you! ^.^





  • 7. Flawless by Lara Chapman.

  • I LOVED Sarah's character; she's such a strong person and I admired her character a lot. I also loved her friendship with her best friend and with her love interest, Rock. Even though this was a fantastic stand-alone book, I WISH I could read more about these characters and see how their relationships develop!





  • 8. Parallel by Lauren Miller.

  • I really enjoyed this book, and I thought it was really fantastic. However, the ending was left really open, and I NEED to find out what happens to Abby and Astronomy Boy! Even though I wasn't overly keen on Abby's character, I really did love her relationship with Astronomy Boy, it was SO cute and I really want to read more. :)



 
 
 
 


What are your Top Ten Books You Wish Could Have Had Sequels? Leave me a comment or a link to your blog post and I'll be sure to check it out! ^.^ Happy reading! (: