NEW BLOG: THE BOOK BUZZER

Hey guys! So i'm officially moving my blog. Sadly, I'm leaving this one and made a new book blog called The Book Buzzer. It will have reviews, memes, host contests and interviews (hopefully when I get more followers) Please check it out!

Click Here to see it!

Birthday Giveaway: The Sequels @ Girls Without a Bookshelf

Enter for a chance to win one or all of these great sequels (finished copies)!

Crescendo (sequel to Hush Hush)

Torment (sequel to Fallen)

Beautiful Darkness (sequel to Beautiful Creatures)

Return to Paradise (sequel to Leaving Paradise)

The Haunted (sequel to The Hollow)

Ascendant (sequel to Rampant)

Sapphique (sequel to Incarceron)

Contest Ends August 31. Enter Here

Paranormalcy Pre-Order Contest! @ Books Obsession

"Today's a good day for a contest, don't you think? :) But this time - I wanted to do something a little different. So how about...a pre-order contest! From the lovely Book Depository, that way it can be international, yay! There are so many awesome books coming out this summer, especially in the paranormal/fantasy genre, am I right? Yep.

So I want this contest to be big. Huge. Off the charts. Ohhhkay maybe I shouldn't get too ahead of myself. First, I'll start out with three (3) books as the prize: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White,The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, andPersonal Demons by Lisa Desrochers.

First winner gets their pick of three books from the pre-order list.
Second winner gets their pick of two books from the pre-order list. (Added 7/18)
Third winner gets their pick of one book from the pre-order list.
Fourth winner gets their pick of one book from the pre-order list.
(The scratched out winners above may be added, depending on the amount of people that enter and start following.)

The Pre-Order Book List (so far):
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Added 7/14)
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Added 7/18)
Halo by Alexandra Adornetto (Added 7/22)

The contest will end on August 18, you must be at least 13 years old to enter (read my contest policy), and remember that it's international (as long as your country is on the list for where the Book Depository ships for free)! I bet you're now wondering, how the heck do I enter?! Well..." - Book Obsession

Everyone's excited for Paranormalcy! Enter Here!

It's A Party! The VRP Daily Giveaway and Grand Prize Gift Basket @ Kristie Cook, Author of Promise! & Confessions of a Bookaholic's Promise Giveaway!

Kristie Cook, Author of Promise is having a great party along with giveaways to celebrate her book! Check it out! Here are all the prizes starting with Tuesday:

Tuesday's Prizes

• Local Winner - $5 gift certificate for Sassy Cakes cupcakes + signedPromise bookmark + Got a Date To-Knight nail polish
• Non-Local Winner - Promise t-shirt + signed Promise bookmark

And to enter...

To enter for Tuesday's daily drawing and to get entries for the grand prize,click here to complete the form. Remember, you can get more entries by telling everyone about the party. The more, the merrier, right?

Enter Here

Also, Confessions of a Bookaholic is having a Promise Giveaway! Here's the cover:

Prize: 1 winner will receive a signed copy of Promise and some bookmarks

Rules: You must be at least 17 to enter (sorry, this book isn't YA...as you can probably tell from the *cough*...trailer below, ha!)

US Only

Winner will have 48 hours to respond once contacted

The form must be filled outContest Ends August 2nd! Enter Here

Summer Prize Pack 2 @ Confessions Of a Bookaholic

I am a huge fan of Sarah Dessen! Yes, sometimes her books are predictable and yes, many of them have the same plot, but her books are the ones that every teenage girl MUST read. Enter this contest over at Confessions Of a Bookaholic:

Prize Pack #2

Includes

Sarah Dessen Gift Set (Just Listen, This Lullaby and The Truth About Forever)

Forgive My Fins bookmark

Sea bookmark

You will have until August 19th to sign up for them all! Winners should be announced Monday, August 23rd.
Please check out the rules here - Summer Lovin' Giveaway

ENTER HERE

Contest! @ The Naughty Book Kitties

Win 6 Different LGBT Books, all SIGNED by the author!

I’m giving away a sh*t load of gay books! And they’re signed!

A signed copy of The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
A signed copy of Thinking Straight by Robin Reardon

Two winners will be chosen. The first winner will receive the signed copy of The Vast Fields of Ordinary along with the signed copy of Grl2Grl, along with a signed copy of Tricks. The second winner will receive the signed copy of Thinking Straight along with the signed copy of Rage, along with a signed copy of Tricks, along with the signed copy of Totally Joe and a button. Good luck, my loves!

There is no clear end date, but this contest started on July 25 so my guess is that it ends sometime in late august. Enter HERE

Got Books? Multi-Blogger Event!! Giveaways Galore!

Over at Knitting and Sundries, Julie is hosting a Got Books Giveaway! There will be THREE winners! The first winner gets a pick of three books from amazon, and the second winner gets a pick of two books from amazon, and the third winner will get a pick of one book!

ENTER HERE

Hurry, this giveaway ends July 24!

Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Genre: Science Fiction

Hardcover, 266 pages

Who is Jenna Fox?

Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a year long coma, and she's still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. Her parents show her home movies of her life, her memories, but she has no recollection. Is she really the same girl she sees on the screen?

Little by little, Jenna begins to remember. Along with the memories come questions-questions no one wants to answer for her. What really happened after the accident?

In this fascinating novel, acclaimed author Mary E. Pearson presents an unforgettable look at one human life and a glimpse into a possible future that may be closer than we think.

-Summary from Goodreads

The Adoration of Jenna fox is one of the most mysterious and psychological (deep) books I have ever read.

The beginning was a little slow, but there were so many unfulfilled explanations and disconnections in the book that it just forced me to keep reading. Pearson did an AMAZING job with the voice of Jenna. She was confused yet smart, independent, and weak yet strong. There was a major development of this character as the book went on.

What I loved about this book is it kept me guessing, and only at halfway through the book did most of my questions become clear. After some- note only some- explanations were told, the storyline goes full-speed ahead. There were new twists and more answers at every page, which only doubled my curiosity about one question: Who is Jenna Fox? Just like her, I had yet to understand who she truly was.

All the characters were well developed. Dane, the one who has something missing inside of him, the charming criminal Ethan, the real Mr. Bender. Dying Allys, Lily, the untruthful and secretive mom and dad. Every single character made an impact on Jenna and her new life. Before the accident, Jenna lived in Boston. It was really neat too hear her talk about Boston, like when she mentioned the T and shopping with Locke and Kara at Newbury Street. Those are real places (I've been to both), and it was fun to imagine the scenes since I have been there.

The plot was genious. I was especially hooked on a single phrase, that was repeated almost every chapter in the book.

"Hurry, Jenna, Hurry."

the meaning, which I realized in the end, was overwhelmingly powerful. The ending of this book was quite possible one of the most striking I've read yet. Sorry, I know I'm being very bland and un-descriptive, but if i mention anything about the ending or the main parts of the book, I'm sure to give it all away.

5 Beasts

Review: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Title: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Paranormal Romance

hardcover, 178 pages

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood...life before she became a vampire. All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has a few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and. above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a life, how do you find the truth?

-Summary from Goodreads

I'm not a Twilight fan. I stopped reading the series after New Moon, and I found that book so boring I never actually finished it. I skimmed through most of Twilight. But this book, compared to the ones in the saga, was not bad, and I would say it was definitely better than the two books that I did read by Stephenie Meyer. It was a well paced story. It wasn't a page turner, but it also wasn't a "I-have-more-important-things-to-do" books either.

The head of the coven, Riley, and his head-honcho, only referred to as "She" or "her", were able to leave me to try to fill in the mystery of who they were, exactly. Bree and Diego were a good match. When the separated after spying on Riley and "She", I was excited to see what would happen with they planned to meet again. I had a gut feeling I knew. It was a little predictable.

There were some very unclear parts, such as Freaky Fred's power. Apparently he was a special vampire, but I never figured out his special abilities until the last event in the book, even though there were multiple scenes mentioning him and his special power, which apparently caused constant revulsions.I finally realized that he could be invisible, but at that point i was too confused to care. What did revulsions have to do with being invisible?

Stephenie Meyer ruined the ending before the book even began. She indirectly says Bree dies. What if the reader has never read Eclipse? She should have let the readers find out for themselves. Also, I found that several times, Meyer contradicted herself. For example, on page 71 Bree describes lips of kisses. She says "Lips like stone, no give." Eleven pages later, Bree is kissing Diego, describing it: "His smooth lips". Okay, so how is it that lips are like stone one page, and then smooth the next? Don't confuse and contradict.

Lastly, Bree's character development was...underdeveloped. Just like Bella in Twilight, she had no voice. She was a very bland character who I didn't understand or find myself relating to in any way. Overall, I think this was just an average book, and I would only suggest it to readers if they want an average, short read.

3 Beasts

Review: Sisters Red

Title: Sisters Red

Author: Jackson Pearce

Genre: Paranormal Fiction

hardcover, 328 pages

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless

-Summary from Goodreads

Sisters Red is slightly like a twisted version of Little Red Riding Hood, but with much more action, adventure, romance, suspense and mystery. It was fun how Jackson Pearce made the story told from the two points of view of the March sisters, Scarlett and Rosie. Pearce did a fantastic job depicting the voices of both girls, they had very different personalities, hobbies, and opinions in and on life. Pearce was able to show how the two sisters were similar in so many ways, yet so different in so many as well. For example, the whole thing about them both having "The same heart". I know, it sounds really cheesy, but the way she described it was really neat, like how, when they hunt, their hearts move as one, and they have the feeling of becoming one another.

The writing style was perfect, as the descriptions and details told by them were never overloaded with unnecessary adjectives, yet they were also detailed enough for a good image based on the descriptions to submerge from my thoughts. Scarlett was portrayed well as protective, caring and forgiving as a sister, yet merciless, ruthless, and dangerous as a hunter. Rosie was portrayed well as understanding and loving. She knows that ever since the wolf incident, she owes her life to Scarlett forever by hunt. Yet she also wants to live a life besides wolves and hatchets as well. Rosie's character added to the storyline with a good twist.

To be honest, there was one unnecessary part of the book that I should mention. The art class that Rosie took as part of a community program where they had to draw men nude? That was pretty unnecessary. I know that it is a referral to remind the reader that Rosie is starting to fall in love with Silas because one of the men she has to draw looks like him, but there were many other parts of the book where Rosie talks about how she falls in love with Silas. I found this section of the story confusing, weird and very unnecessary.

However, I liked how Rosie and Silas's relationship was not rushed, and it took about half of the book for things to really pick up between them. I highly dislike books with story lines that go from "I didn't know he/she existed" then five minutes later to "I love you". Overall, this was a great read, and I must say so far it has been the best paranormal book I have read yet.

4 Beasts

A Sizzlin' Summer Book Giveaway

The Prairie Library is giving away 4 amazing books! Ends August 21st.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

This is Me From Now On by Barbara Dee

The Sapphique giveaway is only for U.S. residents. The rest of the books can be entered internationally.

I especially can't wait for Mockingjay to come out. I've been waiting for at least 1 year for this book!

Go enter the contest! GO!

Once Upon A Read-A-Thon

I joined the Once Upon A Read-A-Thon, hosted by Pure Imagination, Reading Angel, and Candace's Book Blog. My goal was to read six books. Here they are:
1) Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins2) TTYL - Lauren Myracle3) Party - Tom Leveen4) Gimme a Call - Sarah Mlynowski5) Claire de Lune - Christine Johnson6) When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead
I was pretty busy for the first two days of the Read-A-Thon, so I didn't do any of the mini challenges. But I DID do the mini challenge for today, June 14.
Check out my entry for Mini Challenge Day 3 of Once-Upon-A-Read-A-Thon from The Book Faery called Where In the World Have You Read? Too see my answer, click here

The Book Thief

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

Genre: Historical Fiction

hardcover, 552 pages

"It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

-Summary from Goodreads

Narrated by death, this book immediately struck my curiosity. What an odd yet brilliant way to tell about Liesel Meminger's life as an adopted child and a book thief.

I loved the strong voice of Death. Zusak made him very distinct, and portrayed his personality of grim and, well, obviously deadly, yet he was able to tell the reader that he was really a softy on the inside. I also loved how Death "is not a big fan of surprises", and he often told the reader about future events of the story way before they happen in the book. When the first shock was spoiled, I was mad, but then when the part came in the book, I was relieved because it wasn't a major giveaway that could effect the enjoyment of the book.

The plot could have been stronger, as there wasn't a major conflict between the protagonist, Lisel, and the antagonists, the Nazis. One strange thing about the ending was that Liesel had nothing to do with the resolution, which I infer is the end of world war II. However, this book is still a one-of-a-kind, filled with suspense, action, laughs, friendship, and odd display of romance, and an abundance of love.

4.5 BEASTS

Heavenly Trailer

So I was just exploring some book blogs that I haven't heard of yet, and I stumbled upon Jennifersmusings. She's holding a contest that ends tomorrow, a giveaway for the book Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens. Check out the trailer!