These are the same 5 books I'm offering in my New Year's Blog Hop Giveaway! So if you haven't entered, you should.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
My Fav 5 for 2011 + GIVEAWAY reminder
These are the same 5 books I'm offering in my New Year's Blog Hop Giveaway! So if you haven't entered, you should.
Friday, December 30, 2011
And the winner is...
Pavan
Winning an eBook copy of Existence by Abbi Glines
& a signed poster
Didn't win? You so need to read this book. Check it out below.
I am not compensated for any of the links in this post.
The spoils of war & why it's still a victory
And finally, despite the lose JLA gave us the win incentive of
Seems like a pretty nice victory to me! Thanks JLA.
Now for my turn.
I ran a giveaway for a pre-order of PURE and the winner is
Amy Fournier
Congrats! An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Dank from Existence by Abbi Glines GIVEAWAY reminder
Today
is my birthday and I tried to decide what I wanted to do with my blog to
celebrate my birthday. One of my favorite things to do is character
interviews. So what better thing to do on my blog but do a character
interview.
Today, I have Dank from Existence. I must admit, I'm a little terrified to talk to .... um .... death. Okay, so here we go.
So, Dank thanks for
agreeing to talk to me today. The picnic table outside the school is a
perfect choice for our little talk. This is the first place you saw
Pagan, right?
No. It was the first place Pagan saw me.
Oh interesting. Tell
me, what was your first impression of Pagan?
She was odd. Never had I come across a female as ..ah…
unique as Pagan. Sure she's beautiful but outward appearances mean little to
me. Her strange behavior intrigued me.
As you watched her,
you... um .... kind of fell under her spell. Do you know what it is about
her that captured your attention the most?
She is genuine. There are no pretenses. If she is wrong she
admits it and apologizes. If she wants something she doesn't hold back. She
goes after it. *coughs to cover a chuckle* Which was ridiculously
irresistible when it was me that she wanted.
Can you describe Pagan
in 5 words?
Honest
Perceptive
Giving
Beautiful
Mine
Yours, huh? Wonder if
Leif would agree. Anyway, can you describe
the perfect day with Pagan, if you think you could handle spending that much
time with her.
There would be no souls to take. I could spend my day with
just Pagan. No other forces pulling me away. No responsibilities other than
making her smile. Anywhere we could be alone… far away from the deceptive
quarterback.
Yeah, I got the
feeling you didn’t like the quarterback much.
Your responsibilities
could be considered difficult. How do you see so much sadness and not let
it affect you?
Sadness is a human emotion. I'm not human. When Death takes
your soul it is just part of a cycle. You'll be given another life. A new life.
It's the way it's always been.
You can't be with
Pagan but you ...um.. tolerate her being with Leif. What's it like
watching them together?
I despise Leif. Next question.
Oh, guess that explains
it. *heehee* You seem very taken with Kendra, or at least Pagan seems to think
so. What's up with Kendra and you?
Kendra was the only way to keep Pagan at a distance. I was
trying to save Pagan's soul. I tolerated Kendra. She was a shield to protect
Pagan from me. Nothing more.
If you could have one
wish, no questions, what would it be?
To be a soul instead of the Deity in charge of taking
souls.
You play guitar and
sing in a band. Do you write your own songs? Is there another band
you would consider similar to your music?
Music was once the only thing I enjoyed. It gave me a
purpose. I do write music. I've written several for Pagan .Our band sounds
similar to Muse.
Nice. I like Muse.
Any songs that remind you of Pagan or the two of you?
Going Under by Evanescence
When the Stars Go Blue - The Corrs
Time is Running Out - Muse
Those are a few.
Randomness:
M&M or skittles? I'm not a sweet eater.
Burger or steak? If I am going to eat,
steak.
Soda or coffee? Soda, I guess.
Mountains or ocean? Ocean. It reminds me
of Pagan.
Night or day? Day.
Blond or Brunette? Brunette. Transporters
are blond and Lief is blond. I dislike that color.
Blue or brown eyes? Brown
Is there anything else
you'd like my readers to know? My
full name is Dankmar. It means "famous for his spirit"
Thanks Dank for hanging out with me for a
bit. Good luck with Pagan.
What do you think of Dank?
I love him and I can't wait for book two. If you missed my review, find it here.
Thanks to Abbi, I have presents to giveaway for my birthday. We have an eBook copy of Existence & a SIGNED poster. What's a birthday without presents.
Just follow StuckInBooks and fill out the rafflecopter below. Normal rules apply. This one is US only. Ends on my birthday, December 30th.
Just follow StuckInBooks and fill out the rafflecopter below. Normal rules apply. This one is US only. Ends on my birthday, December 30th.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Support Alex TODAY in the Heronine Tourney with INCENTIVES & GIVEAWAY
Today on StuckInBooks, I have Katy to tell us why we should support Alex in the Heroine Tourney.
“Hey guys, I’m Katy from Katy’s Book Obsession.” (You might also know me from OBSIDIAN by
Jennifer L Armentrout.)
“I’m here on StuckInBooks today to advocate for one of my
favorite heroines, Alex from HALF-BLOOD.”
“Hey
Kitten, what ya doing?”
Totally inserting a frownie face here >: (
See. Frownie
face.
“Daemon? Is that you? What are you
doing in the middle of my guest post?”
“You
underestimate my…um abilities.”
I hear him laughing but he’s nowhere in sight. Damn, did I
ever underestimate his abilities.
“Dang you, Daemon, what do you want?”
“Want
to go for a walk with me?”
“Seriously? Did Dee
put you up to this? Are you looking for bonus points again?”
“I do
like bonus points. You willing to help
me out?”
“No, I have to finish this guest post and you’re filling it
up with blue
writing!”
“What
if I help you finish your post, then will you go for a walk with me?”
Sigh. “Maybe.”
“What
are we writing about?”
“Um… you sure about this? Fine, whatever. I’m writing about Alex from HALF-BLOOD. She’s in a heroine tourney today and I want
my peeps to vote for her.”
“A
heroine tourney?”
“Yeah, the girls over at YA Sisterhood are holding a
tournament, you know with brackets and all.
Today’s vote is between Alex from HALF-BLOOD and Katniss from HUNGER GAMES. I need to convince my peeps to
VOTE TEAM ALEX.”
“Okay,
convince me.”
“What do you mean convince you?”
“Well,
if you can convince me, then you can convince anyone, right? So convince me to VOTE for Alex. What’s she like?”
“Um… well Alex is a half-blood…”
“A
what?”
“She’s half human, half Hematoi. Hematoi are godlike and control the elements
but half-bloods are either forced into servitude or trained to protect the
pure-bloods. That’s what Alex has been
training to do, well sort of. Her mom
took her away for a few years without explaining why but then her mom was
attacked by daimons and …”
“I
didn’t attack her mom.”
“No, no, daimons!
They’re Pure’s that have been turned… never mind. The point is that Alex had to stand up and
fight against something horrific. She was
tortured, basically, and still protected her friend Caleb. In the end, she had to make a really tough
decision that I can’t get into because it’s way too spoilery.”
“Damn,
she’s one tough cookie.”
“Yeah and she is one kick ass fighter too. Turns out she’s a lot more than just a
half-blood, but again, way too spoilery. But let’s say, she makes the Luxen
looked like cabbage patch dolls.”
“So
she’s tough. What else?”
“Tough, strong, brave…”
“Yeah,
I get it. You’re tough too, what else?”
“Well Aiden thinks she’s beautiful.”
“Aiden?”
“Aiden is the pure blood that trains Alex. She’s trying to catch up cause her mom took
her away and she missed a bunch of stuff.
He gives her… private lessons.”
“Really? How private?”
“No not like that – geez Daemon. They can’t be together cause he’s a pure and
she’s a half-blood. It’s forbidden.”
“So
what you’re telling me is that she is constantly tempted by something she can’t
have but she keeps coming back?”
“Definitely and she’s got it bad for Aiden too.”
“Sounds
like she’s trying to do the right thing.
I might like her.”
He was laughing again.
“You do not like her!
Whatever, she’s fictional. You
probably would like her, she’s funny.”
“Funny?”
“Well snarky funny.
I do think you guys would get along but she might kick your butt.”
Now I’m laughing.
“There
you go again, underestimating my … abilities.
I don’t think she’s faced someone with my power.”
“She’s faced some pretty crazy stuff including things that aren’t
normally hanging around on Earth if you get my drift.”
“Aliens?”
“No I mean… never mind.
You know what else you would like, she tells it like it is. Kind of like
you.”
“What’s
that supposed to mean?”
“Well Alex risks servitude all the time cause she won’t let
people get away with stuff. When someone
pisses her off, she tell them straight out.
Sound familiar?”
“I
have no idea what you’re talking about.
Is it time for our walk yet?”
“I never said I was going with you.”
“But
you are going, Kitten.”
He steps in the room with a huge smile on his face, a
laptop in his hands.
“Sorry, Valerie, for all the extra text. You can delete Daemon if you want. But everyone VOTE for ALEX today.”
Thanks Katy, and I’d never delete Daemon. Pretty sure he wouldn’t like it.
You
got that right. So, yeah, vote Alex FTW!
Daemon…?
AND there are incentives again. SQUEE!
Here's what Jennifer is promising as the votes roll in...
250 votes: a teaser from Pure
500 votes: a teaser from Onyx
750 votes: a teaser from Pure and Onyx
1,000 votes: a POV from Daemon (Obsidian)
And that's not all.
1250 votes: a teaser from Seth's POV in Pure
1500 votes: a teaser from Shadows.
WINNING votes: a teaser from Pure, Shadows, Onyx, and Cursed
AND
And for every 1000 votes, JLA will give away an ARC of Pure, up to 6000 votes
- ARC will be given away on Twitter
***Other Giveaways***
Alex's advocate, Momo, over at Books Over Boys still has her giveaway going for a copy of DIAMON, HALF-BLOOD & PURE. So go check that out here.
Now it's my turn...
Spread the word for my girl, Alex and enter to win a pre-order of PURE. Yep. And it's international as long as Book Depository ships to you. Just find a way to spread the word about voting for Alex then fill out the Rafflecopter below.
I am adding 5 tweeting buttons BUT they must be done at least an hour apart. Last time, I had to delete a lot of entries for people that just did them one right after another. The rafflecopter logs when they come in so I can easily tell and I will DELETE entries that don't comply with the rules.
It's a Team Cassie Battle & GIVEAWAY reminder
So today on the YA Sisterhood Heroine Tourney there's a showdown between two of Cassies girls! Izzy from the Mortal Instruments is going against Tessa from the Infernal Devices.
Hard choice I know. But we at Team Cassie decided to leave our giveaway up and running for this competition. There is one tweet button for Izzy and one for Tessa, take your pick! Support one of Cassie's girls today then fill out the rafflecopter below to enter to win some great prizes.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hard choice I know. But we at Team Cassie decided to leave our giveaway up and running for this competition. There is one tweet button for Izzy and one for Tessa, take your pick! Support one of Cassie's girls today then fill out the rafflecopter below to enter to win some great prizes.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
It's my BD and I'll READ if I want to!
So it is my birthday tomorrow December 30th and I joined a 12 hour read-a-thon to celebrate. I love read-a-thons! Yay!
Autumn Reviews is hosting a Holiday-A-Thon and you can check it out here.
Books I'll be reading:
Finishing Lola & the Boy Next Door (Currently on page 94 of 338)
Under the Never Sky
Relatively Honest
Catching Jordan
Kiss Crush Collide
Pretty sure I won't finish those because I'm not a speed reader but I'll try. Updates will appear here. Wish me luck!
Update - 10:30 AM
Started reading at 7:00AM
I was on page 94 of Lola & the Boy Next Door but now I'm on page 255
Spend a little time blogging and on the phone getting BD wishes
Update - 2:00 PM
Finished Lola and started Catching Jordan
On page 75 of 281
Took time to eat and shower
Update - 11:30 PM
So I missed a few hours because we had some family BD celebrations but then I finished up my 12 hours when I got home.
Here's my final stats for the readathon
12 hours
2 books
525 pages
Tons of fun
Great BD
Thanks guys for including me!
Autumn Reviews is hosting a Holiday-A-Thon and you can check it out here.
Books I'll be reading:
Finishing Lola & the Boy Next Door (Currently on page 94 of 338)
Under the Never Sky
Relatively Honest
Catching Jordan
Kiss Crush Collide
Pretty sure I won't finish those because I'm not a speed reader but I'll try. Updates will appear here. Wish me luck!
Update - 10:30 AM
Started reading at 7:00AM
I was on page 94 of Lola & the Boy Next Door but now I'm on page 255
Spend a little time blogging and on the phone getting BD wishes
Update - 2:00 PM
Finished Lola and started Catching Jordan
On page 75 of 281
Took time to eat and shower
Update - 11:30 PM
So I missed a few hours because we had some family BD celebrations but then I finished up my 12 hours when I got home.
Here's my final stats for the readathon
12 hours
2 books
525 pages
Tons of fun
Great BD
Thanks guys for including me!
Happy New Year Giveaway Hop
Hard to believe that 2012 is already here!
For this giveaway, I choose 5 favorites from 2011 to let you choose between. The winner will choose one of the five books. Just follow StuckInBooks and fill out the rafflecopter below.
And the winner is...
Darcus
She wins an eBook of Cold Blood.
An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Thanks everyone who entered.
A turning point in my reading life - Readng Cassandar Clare
As we head to the new year, I've been thinking about where my blogging adventure started, how I got stuck in books. Interestingly enough, I haven’t always been an avid reader. Shocking, I know but I had a few books when I was young that captured my interest but nothing more. Now, my life seems to revolve around reading. What changed? As I think back about it, I can really pin point it to two authors. The first one is Stephenie Meyer who wrote the Twilight Series. She got me reading but she’s not the one who sent me down the road to loving YA urban fantasy. After I read the Twilight Series, I tried very hard to find other books that spoke to me so I haphazardly picked up books in YA looking for a repeat performance. Then a friend at work recommended The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I literally sailed through the first two books but had to wait on the third because it wasn’t out yet. In her books, I discovered what it is that I love to read.
Now when I read, I look for urban fantasy or paranormal that have strong characters and fast action. No one writes like Cassie but I’ve found a few I would stand up next to her as just as good in different ways. Jennifer L Armentrout comes to mind. I have LOVED everything she has written and can’t wait to read more. Julie Kawaga is another one that creates those perfect stories for me. And I’m always comparing what I’m reading to these idols that I have. Thank you Cassandra for helping me discover my passion in reading and for getting me stuck in books!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Vote Team Clary TODAY
Hey, I’m Valerie from
StuckInBooks.com and I’m here to convince you to vote Team Clary. Helping me today is the gorgeous Jace. Thanks for stopping by to help me. Why should readers vote for Clary as the
strongest heroine? (Oh and make sure you look for the City of Lost Souls
teaser that Jace brought with him.)
 |
| By Kara Lija |
By
Jace
She’s my girl so she’s the perfect heroine but there are
other reasons too. Clary is loyal and
driven to help those she loves, even when it was that mundane she wanted to
save.
From City of Bones – “When the
self-congratulatory part of the evening is over, maybe we could get back to
saving my best friend from being exsanguinated to death?”
She’s feisty & independent. She doesn’t put up with any shit, even from
me.
From City of Bones - "I was ninety percent sure." "I see," Clary said.
There must have been something in her voice, because he turned to look at her. Her hand cracked across his face, a slap that rocked him back on his heels. He put a hand to his cheek, more in surprise than pain. "What the hell was that for?" "The other ten percent," she said, and they rode the rest of the way down to the street in silence."
Clary finds a way to win. Her gifts help her find a way.
From City of Ashes - "The completed
Fearless rune was a matrix of strongly swirling lines: a rune as bold and
aerodynamic as an eagle. She tore the page free and held it up so the
others could see it."
She fights her own
battles. All that red hair, I’m not
gonna cross her.
From City of Glass
- "Is
this the part where you say if I hurt her, you'll kill me?" "No"
Simon said, "If you hurt Clary she's quite capable of killing you herself.
Possibly with a variety of weapons."
 |
| By Kara Lija |
She
loves really fiercely, and that's one of her great strong points, but she's
never dependent. She knows how strong I think she is.
From City of Glass - "Clary thought of the way Jace had looked at her then, the blaze of
faith in his eyes, his belief in her. He had always thought she was strong. He had showed it in everything he did, in every look and every touch. Simon had faith in her too, yet when he’d held her, it had been as if she were something fragile, something made of delicate glass. But Jace had held her with all the strength he had, never wondering if
she could take it—he’d known she was as strong as he was."
From City of Glass - "Clary thought of the way Jace had looked at her then, the blaze of
faith in his eyes, his belief in her. He had always thought she was strong. He had showed it in everything he did, in every look and every touch. Simon had faith in her too, yet when he’d held her, it had been as if she were something fragile, something made of delicate glass. But Jace had held her with all the strength he had, never wondering if
she could take it—he’d known she was as strong as he was."
I don’t know this Meghan girl, but Clary saved the world
from Valentine. I think we might need her
to kick some demon ass very soon, to save the world again. To save me.
City of
Lost Souls - "The demon struck, and Clary rose to meet it with the dagger she had yanked
from her belt. She turned her body aside as she drove the dagger home, avoiding
the creature’s fangs; its hiss turned to a gurgle as the blade sank in and she
dragged it down, gutting the creature open the way someone might gut a fish.
Burning demon blood exploded over her hand in a hot torrent."
Thanks Jace, I couldn’t agree more. And if you need more incentive to vote for
Clary today then remember that if Clary wins this whole deal, Cassandar
Clare will write the Greenhouse scene from Jace's POV.
Make sure you spread the
word to vote for Clary today then enter to win ALL
of Cassandra’s books, SIGNED below in the rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Live Chat wtih Jordan Dane
Just a note to let you know about the Live Chat with Jordan Dane on
January 5th at 7PM EST. on YA Bound.
The winner of On a Dark Wing from my blog tour post will be announced there.
Missed my review & GIVEAWAY? Check it out here.
The Lost Hero
My Summary:
Jason can't remember who he is or how he got on a bus of misfits. He has a girlfriend? Piper wishes she could forget that her dad is missing and she needs to obey the voice from her nightmares to get him back. Leo isn't sharing his strange abilities or how they were the cause of the death of someone he loves. Thrown together, the three need to figure out what's going on and who they can trust. Can they learn to trust each other and work together to complete a dangerous quest to save a Goddess that may want them dead?
My Thoughts:
5 stars - a must read
Rick Riordan does it again. Love this new series set in the world of Percy Jackson's adventures. The same Greek Gods are there ignoring the mortal world even though they claim their children as promised to Percy. Add the Roman version of the Gods, acting a whole lot fiercer and things just got a whole lot more interesting. Needless to say, the world building is fabulous. Really enjoyed this new Roman perspective.
The characters are just as good as Percy's lot. There's a lot of the old favorites hanging around in the background too. And hints of more of our favorites to come. I love Jason. He's trying to remember the memories that have been taken from him. He's becoming friends with Leo, learning to trust him with his life. He's feeling things for Piper that maybe he shouldn't because who knows what's in those hidden memories. He's a great reluctant hero. He knows he's done great things but why is he the leader? I love this aspect of him. Greatness with some humility. Piper is still learning that she's a demi-god. Newly claimed she's not so excited with her Goddess mother. What can she do but talk people into doing stuff they shouldn't. Unsure how she can help but desperate to get her dad back, she makes a fabulous heroine. Leo is the fixer with secrets. Wanting to be noticed by the girls but clearly the sidekick, Leo comes through time and again to save the day. Love his passion and obsession with making things work.
The plot is action packed and full of twists and turns. Love it when a book leaves lots of clues that I don't even notice until after they have been explained near the end of the tale. Such is the case with this book. The story comes together concluding the first phase of long struggle to save the world. Loose ends are tied up and clues explained but I was left wanting and needing to dig right into book two as I realize just who that book is about and what's going on.
This is a must YA book for anyone who loved Percy Jackson. The fun hasn't ended, it's just shifted to add great new characters and new threats. Love it.
Rick Riordan | Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
I am not compensated for the links in this post.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Best of 2011 Giveaway Hop
Seems like the right thing to giveaway during a best of 2011 Hop is the books I liked best this year. I read more than 135 books in 2011 and the list below is the ones I rated with 5 stars.
One winner will choose one book that I gave a 5 star rating to this year. Some of the books are only available on eBook and some are only available in the US - so be aware of that when you choose.
Here's the list of 5 star reads from 2011 in reverse read order.
Just follow StuckInBooks and fill out the rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Hop along to the next blog....
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