Monday, July 12, 2010

Giveaway: Need + Captivate by Carrie Jones

I've got a duo for you today! Need and Captivate by Carrie Jones.

Need

Amazon.com:

Zara collects phobias the way other girls collect Facebook friends. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.

With suspense, romance, and paranormal themes, this exciting breakout novel has readers rapidly turning the pages.

Captivate

Amazon.com:

Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

Here's how to enter to be one of two winners of a set of Need (paperback) & Captivate (hardcover)!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. only.

The giveaway will end July 26th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

**Prize provided by marketing firm and sent by me**

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Alea's BEA Picks On A Theme or OMGGGG!

I know this is a little late, but it's never too late to be exciting about books! BEA got me excited about a lot of books and for some reason I noticed a few themes within those books so here are my BEA Picks on a Theme! I can't wait to read them!

College Girls

Cum Laude (6/1/10) by Cecily von Ziegesar and The Ivy (8/31/10) by Lauren Kunze with Rina Onur both deal with college, which I love love love to read about but it's sort of uncommon in the type of fiction I read... until now! I know The Ivy is the beginning of a series, I wonder if the same can be said for Cum Laude?

Girl Detectives

Girl's Best Friend (10/12/10) by Leslie Margolis and Judy Moody: Girl Detective (8/10/10) by Megan McDonald are both about young female detectives, which I must say I adore! Girl's Best Friend (I couldn't find the cover but I can tell you this, it's damn cute!) even mentioned Harriet the Spy on the back, count me in!

True Vows Series

This Fall HCI is launching a new line of romances, reality based romances called True Vows, what a very cool concept. Their first three are The Icing on the Cake (9/14/10) by Alison Kent, Hard to Hold (9/14/10) by Julie Leto, and Meet Me in Manhattan (9/14/10) by Judith Arnold. These three were my most anticipated book signings at BEA and honestly I can't even pick one I'm most excited about, they all sound great!

Vampires

I know, I know what you are thinking. Haven't I been saying for the last year I'm sick of paranormal and vampires.... well yes, for the most part. But these 3 vampire books seem to be utterly original in a sea of books that are all the same give or take a vampire or werewolf! Let's see what we've got here, iDrakula (10/1/10) by Bekka Black is remake of Drakula told in texts, emails and websites, Bloodthirsty (10/5/10) by Flynn Meaney is about a pale kid pretending to be a vampire to get girls (!!!), and Fat Vampire (7/27/10) by Adam Rex is about just that, a fat vampire! This is where paranormal should be heading, bravo!

Young Adult Historical Fiction

I'm slowly coming around to historical fiction (especially historical romances!) but at BEA I was taken with two Young Adult historical fiction books, Dangerous Neighbors (8/24/10) by Beth Kephart and Prisoners in the Palace (10/13/10) by Michaela MacColl. Dangerous Neighbors looks to be a mysterious story about two twin sisters set around the Philadelphia Centennial fair of 1876 and Prisoners in the Palace takes us back to the time before Queen Victoria is Queen, seen through the eyes of one of her lady's maids.

Girly Books

Who doesn't like a good girly book, I know I sure do! Claire LaZebnik (author of The Smart One and the Pretty One which I adored) returns with If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now (9/27/10) about a young mother and her son returning home, Chasing Perfect (4/27/10) by Susan Mallery starts off her new series, Fool's Gold about a town with tons of women and not enough men, Carly Phillips also starts off a new series with Kiss Me If You Can (7/27/10) about the most eligible bachelor and the woman that could care less, and finally All I Ever Wanted (7/27/10) by Kristan Higgins (which I've already read and loved!) about a women, her boss that she loves and the vet she falls for when she's trying to get over her boss!

High School

I just adore high school stories, too bad most of them are paranormal these days.... here are a few that don't appear to be! In Accomplice (8/1/10) by Eireann Corrigan we have a staged disappearance gone wrong, in The Mockingbirds (11/2/10) by Daisy Whitney we encounter a secret society, in Girl Parts (8/10/10) by John M. Cusick a female Companion bot, in The Duff (9/7/10) by Kody Keplinger a girl falls for a guy who's guts she hates, and in Mostly Good Girls (10/5/10) by Leila Sales we head to boarding school!

So there we have it! What sounds good to you?

Unbelievable (Pretty Little Liars #4) by Sara Shepard

**WARNING SPOILERS FROM PREVIOUS BOOKS**

Amazon.com:

Four pretty little liars' charmed lives have turned into living nightmares.

Emily's been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria's boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer's afraid she was involved in Ali's murder. But Hanna's fate is far worse: She's clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much.

If these girls don't start listening to me, Hanna's going to look like the lucky one.

-A

Finally, some damn answers! Not all of them of course because there are 4 more books in the series but enough to briefly satisfy. I love how in Unbelievable Emily is shipping off to live with relatives (because her family is basically appalled by her, nice ones they are). I wondered how that would work, how she could still be part of the story but she really still was. I think in the previous book and a bit in this one, the "Rosewood Stalker" is mentioned a lot and then fizzles out, I wish that plotline would have turned into something more. In the end it just got roped into something else.

The aftermath of Hanna's hit and run leaves her with some gaps in her memory. That plotline in Perfect was INSANE! I was freaking out when I was reading it. Along with Perfect, this book really ramps up the plot, you know you are so close to answers you just have to keep going and going!

A few red herrings were in place to help the revelation of A (yes we finally get to find out!) more surprising. But honestly my suspicions about who A was from earlier in the book were proven right so for me nothing too shocking, but I was glad to finally know and know WHY!

So while this book wraps up one mystery it leaves open another and there is far far more to come!

Unbelievable was released on November 28th 2008
Genre: Young Adult
4/5 Stars
Purchased at Half Price Books

Saturday, July 10, 2010

This Week In Books Or Hi


Monday: nothing

Tuesday:

The Life You've Always Imagined by Kristina Riggle
I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk

For review. I Heart New York has the best cover I've seen in awhile, sadly I was an idiot and covered up most of it in the picture!

Wednesday:

Xisle by Steve Augarde
House of Danger by R.A. Montgomery
Zombie Penpal by Ken McMurtry

For review. The last two are Choose Your Own Adventure books, which is AWESOME!

Thursday:

Too Hot to Handle by Robin Kaye
Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner

Too Hot to Handle was from the library sale rack and Carrie Pilby from Borders. I paid $1.80 for it! (Borders bucks & a coupon!) It has a really cute cover too, which is a re-release. I actually had the original out of print version on my wishlist so it was fun to see it being re-released!

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund
The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block

For review.

Friday:

7 Souls by Barnabas Miller & Jordan Orlando
Efrain's Secret by Sofia Quintero
The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

For review.

Saturday:

Blue Fire by Janice Hardy

For review.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Recent Giveaway Winners + A Very Good Cause

The winner of the Stud Club trilogy is Melanie.

The winner of And Then Everything Unraveled + And Then I Found Out the Truth giveaway is Jacqueline.

The winner of Fly Away Home is Kelly.

The winner of the Sea Change Prize Pack is Taylor/The Library Lurker! Taylor I have emailed you so please respond by Tuesday the 13th to claim your prize!

This post was brought to my attention, Candace is looking for help to gather books for the Pine Ridge Reservation. She provides a ton of research and information as to way this cause, so close to her heart is important. So if you think you can help pop on over and read more about it.

Lookalikes 109

Something About You by Julie James

A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing by Deobrah MacGillivray

Well, I still don't think I've mastered seamless color changes like those in these two covers so I'm always fascinated by these, I want to be this good, blue to pink or pink to blue, I wonder which is the original! Anyhow I prefer Something About You, we get a (almost) full picture. A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing is too much blue and how the picture is cropped almost suffocates it.

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Thursday, July 08, 2010

The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Amazon.com:

When Will and Bet were four, tragic circumstances brought them to the same house, to be raised by a wealthy gentleman as brother and sister. Now sixteen, they’ve both enjoyed a privileged upbringing thus far. But not all is well in their household. Because she’s a girl, Bet’s world is contained within the walls of their grand home, her education limited to the rudiments of reading, writing, arithmetic, and sewing. Will’s world is much larger. He is allowed—forced, in his case—to go to school. Neither is happy.

So Bet comes up with a plan and persuades Will to give it a try: They’ll switch places. She’ll go to school as Will. Will can live as he chooses. But once Bet gets to school, she soon realizes living as a boy is going to be much more difficult than she imagined.

The Education of Bet is a sweet and humorous story told in a wonderful voice! I have read at least one historical novel where a woman dresses like a man to do something only a man can do and I absolutely adored it, so when I heard about The Education of Bet bringing this concept to the YA genre I was really excited!

And Bet didn't let me down. From page one I had a lot of fun reading about her adventures in school masquerading as a boy. The author crafted her voice in such a way that she is so proper even while doing scandalous boy type things, I loved it! And falling for her roommate that thinks she's a boy, priceless! Her relationship with James (her roommate) is so sweet, even when they are both boys, they really look out for each other. We don't see a ton of her relationship with her "brother in spirit" Will save for the beginning of the book but I really liked what I saw of Will as well.

I knew eventually Bet would have to be discovered by someone as a girl but I didn't know how and it was so fun getting there. The Education of Bet was a sweet and very cute book, which I definitely recommend!

The Education of Bet will be released on July 12th 2010
Genre: Historical Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by Amazon Vine

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

"Waiting On" Wednesday 90

Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean

MacLeanSpace.com:

"Lord Nicholas is a paragon of manhood. And his eyes, Dear Reader! So blue!”
Pearls & Pelisses, June 1823

Since being named on of London’s "Lords to Land" by a popular ladies’ magazine, Nicholas St. John has been relentlessly pursued by every matrimony-minded female in the ton. So when an opportunity to escape fashionable society presents itself, he eagerly jumps—only to land in the path of the most determined, damnably delicious woman he’s ever met!
The daughter of a titled wastrel, Lady Isabel Townsend has too many secrets and too little money. Though used to taking care of herself quite handily, her father’s recent passing has left Isabel at sea and in need of outside help to protect her young brother’s birthright. The sinfully handsome, eminently eligible Lord Nicholas could be the very salvation she seeks.
But the lady must be wary and not do anything reckless…like falling madly, passionately in love.
Released October 26th 2010

HEHEHEHE. Well what do we have here!? Another book from SARAH MACLEAN! A few weeks back Sarah FINALLY revealed the cover and summary on her blog... I guess that means it's getting slightly closer for the release date, slightly. Anyhow, I loved her previous release, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake (which was my first romance novel) so YES, this I need!

What can't you wait for to be released?

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

GIVEAWAY: Hunger Games Paperback

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (who doesn't love this book!) is now out in paperback! To celebrate I have 3 paperback copies to giveaway!

Here's a bit of information:

Coming to paperback on July 6th!

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capital is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor to his or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capital wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rules. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. Bestselling writer Suzanne Collins delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

Click here to read the first chapter. It will hook you!

And here is the trailer:



Here's how to enter to be one of three winners of the Hunger Games paperback!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. only.

The giveaway will end July 21st at 6:59 pm Central Time.

**Prize provided by marketing firm**

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Book Blogger Appreciation Week


Well, I'm coming in right at the deadline oops. Anyhow this year's Book Blogger Appreciation Week is already getting started. Registration closes tomorrow, so hopefully you have already registered if you plan to do so! The actual week of BBAW is September 13th through the 17th. You can read all the details on the BBAW website here.

Last year I was nominated for Best YA Review blog and Best Eclectic Book Blog both of which I made the short list for. Personally I find Best Eclectic Book Blog (which is considered a Niche Category) to be the best fit for me so I would love to be up for it again this year!

Here is the description for Best Eclectic Book Blog from the BBAW website:

This blog doesn't specialize in any one book genre. It is known for consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analyses, and other content in a variety of genres.

I would like to offer up these 5 posts for submission:


Pretty Little Liars Secret Keepers Game Recap


So as some of you know, from the end of May until mid-June I was part of the ABC Family Pretty Little Liars Secret Keepers Game. They invited me to participate, sent me a iphone free of charge to play the game on (which I still get to keep now that the game is over) and the fun began.

I thought it would be fun to recap all my challenges for those of you that were interested to see what kinds of tasks I had to complete! I also didn't post a lot of pictures originally so I'm going to share some more here, I thought the game materials came packaged extremely creatively. The phone, phone accessories and secret object came in this really cute box, but the box also contained dirt so I had to dig the contents out!


Ok onto the actual game, I played as Hanna. And all of my challenges came via text message to my iphone from A. I actually started the game a few days after everyone else since I was at BEA, so I didn't technically play the first 2 challenges, though I did end up doing them anyways! One really tricky thing was I was never sure how much time I had to complete a challenge so I tried to do so ASAP. Sometimes A would post hints or updates on her facebook page but it wasn't every time!



CHALLENGE 1

May 25th 4:59 PM

Hanna! You took your mother’s necklace and lost it at a party. I suggest you replace it before she finds out it’s missing. You know the one I’m talking about, you took a photo of it. Lucky for you, I saw one just like it on Craigslist, Philly. Maybe you should find it and send an email asking how many carats it is. In fact, you definitely should. Otherwise, I tell everyone.
-A

This was definitely one of the hardest challenges, I looked around on Craiglist and couldn't find anything so enlisted the help of Gail who's friend was able to find it apparently in a few minutes! I wish I was that good!

CHALLENGE 2

May 27th 2:59 PM

Oh, Hanna. You are so desperate to be me that you think the hottest guy at school is into you. Fat chance. The only person you got a Valentine from last year was your own mother! I’m sure your friends would love to see it - didn’t you take a picture of it? Find it and share it with our facebook group or I’ll let them know your ego is as big as your old dress size.
-A

So this one was simple enough, once I figured out how to access Facebook on the iphone, I posted the photo (which was on my phone) to my own facebook wall, pulled it on my desktop and posted it to the group. Done and done. Since I wasn't actually playing during challenges 1 and 2 I never heard back if I passed them, let's just say I did! :P

CHALLENGE 3

May 30th 9:14 PM

I know how you got your hands on that math final Hanna. Flirting with seniors sure can be rewarding, huh? Now you have to pass my math test. Take the number of PLL twitter followers and subtract the number of tweets. Multiply that number by the premiere date (hint: mm/dd/yy) and text me back the answer. Otherwise, I talk.
-A

Honestly if I hadn't asked for a few opinions before submitting my answer I would have gotten it wrong! I decided to add up the month, date, and year for some stupid reason and was told by everyone that was not correct, so luckily I listened to them! Since this is when I officially started playing A responded back to let me know that I passed the challenge, see my answer below.

May 30th 9:47 PM

109518810. Twitter followers keep increasing.

A's RESPONSE

May 31st 8:33 AM

Hanna - A+ on your math skills. You didn’t need to cheat on that final... clearly you do have a brain after all. Your dirty little secret is safe with me.
-A

CHALLENGE 4

June 1st 4:09 PM

Seems like you’re not a fan of mommy’s new boyfriend. Why don’t I help you break them up? Make her think he’s cheating. Send her flowers from him, but put the wrong woman’s name on the card. Remember Hanna: no flowers, no secret.
-A

So here the actual phone comes into play. After confirming with several people over a few names (I hadn't read the books at this point) I wrote myself several scripts and called and left a message for the flower shop, which I found the number for in my phone. You could totally tell I was nervous and reading from my script but luckily, I passed!


A's RESPONSE

June 3rd 10:21 AM

What a beautiful bouquet your mom got... too bad she threw them in the trash. I’m guessing Officer Wilden won’t be around much longer. Nice work - my lips are sealed.
-A

CHALLENGE 5

June 3rd 11:03 AM

You steal fashion magazines from the store every month and flirt your way out of it. Maybe your friends will help you get out of this one. Get 13 of them to submit stories about how they’ve used flirting to get out of trouble and write them in the message board on http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/pretty-little-liars. Have them write your name somewhere so that you get the credit you deserve.
-A

Oh boy this one was hard. If you follow me on twitter you probably remember me annoying and begging everyone to help me out with this. Luckily you all came through, I shut up on twitter and passed the challenge! You can see the message board here.

CHALLENGE 6

June 5th 6:30 PM

What’s up, Hanna? Let me guess - your dress size! Now that you’ve lied, everyone thinks your two sizes smaller than you really are. I’d hate for everyone to think you’re a big fat liar so let’s try this: plan an ugly outfit on polyvore and share the link with our facebook group - let them know it’s your new style or I’ll share your not-so-little-secret.
-A

This one was simple and a lot of fun. Though since I couldn't admit that I was intentionally making an ugly outfit, my aunt apparently actually started questioning my sanity when she saw it on Facebook, which I thought was hilarious! You can see what I cooked up here.
Over the weekend A kept us guessing as to if we passed challenges 5 and 6 but finally she responded!

A's RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE 5

June 7th 1:04 PM

Hey Hanna. Since you managed to get your friends to fess up to their flirty ways, I’ll keep this secret on the down low - at least for now.
-A

A's RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE 6

June 8th 4:04 PM

Hanna, that outfit on polyvore was so hideous, well done, I’ll keep your BIG secret - but people aren’t blind; they won’t be able to ignore the size of your lies for much longer.
-A

A also checked in to make sure we remembered Pretty Little Liars was premiering that night, I had a feeling that the premiere would be part of a challenge and boy was I right!

Hello darlings. Just wanted to remind you all to watch the premiere of Pretty Little Liars tonight at 8/7 c on the ABCFamily cable channel - like you could forget! I know it’s weird to watch yourself on TV, but this is one show you don’t want to miss.
-A

CHALLENGE 7

June 8th 6:14 PM

Ok Hanna, remember that box I sent you? Well, besides the phone, you should have found a little something extra inside. An object. Before it was in your hands, it was here in Rosewood. Your mission is to watch the premiere tonight and tell me what scene you think it could have been from. This one can be tricky so I suggest you have your readers watching out for it too.
-A

Dear god was this a hard challenge. My object was a little vile of red glitter, which I had kept secret until that point. I actually interpreted the challenge a bit differently than A and first submitted this answer:

June 8th 9:10 PM

The vile of red glitter could have been from the scene when Emily goes to Maya’s house for the first time and sees Ali’s things on the curb. It’s in the boxes of Ali’s things!


And then I happened to check A's facebook page and saw this message:

Your exact object won't be in the show, because obviously I had to shrink some down to size to fit them in your boxes. So don't get to worked up about that. Just remember who you are, and that your objects correspond to that.

-A

I freaked out because I figured, well there, I finally failed one. But I couldn't let it go so I rewatched all the Hanna parts of the premiere, crossed my fingers I had gotten it right this time, and that it would count and submitted this:

June 8th 9:54 PM

Since you are changing your tune and saying it has to correspond to me Hanna. My real answer is the Rosewood Mall Scene and my red glittery nails!


I immediately heard back, which was a relief, but did she mean I had nailed it, or that she was going to accept my second answer... only time would tell!

A's RESPONSE

Nice save Hanna.
-A

MY RESPONSE TO A

I guess nail polish doesn’t go through the mail well. You almost got me that time A.

And instead of finding out if I passed or not I got another challenge, oh the agony!

CHALLENGE 8

June 10th 2:57 PM

Your mom and dad didn’t just grow apart did they? He left you both. You might as well just keep the lie going. Write an article about father’s day on your blog/site and post the link to our facebook group. If you don’t, I’ll tell everyone Daddy’s found a new little girl.
-A

After consulting a few people including Pretty Little Liars expert Khy, you can see what I posted on my blog here.

A's RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE 7

June 14th 10:14 AM

I'm surprised you managed to pull that off. I had that object pretty hidden... at least I thought so. I guess I'll have to keep your secrets safe just a little while longer.
-A

A's RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE 8

June 14th 3:59 PM

I have to admit, even I enjoyed your article. In exchange for that bit of entertainment, I’ll keep your secret.
-A

CHALLENGE 9

June 15th 3:59 PM

Hanna, guess what? The end is near! Not the end of the world - the end of our time together. But before you complete the game, I need you to complete this sentence. Here’s the first part: “Maybe you still think of me as just a friend...” The only way to figure out the second part is to watch tonight’s show.
-A

This wasn't too bad, I just watched Episode 2 with a notepad and wrote my quote down. Done and done, here is what I submitted:

June 15th 9:13 PM

The second part is ... the girl I used to be. Said by Hanna to Sean. Then he kisses her and asks do you kiss your friends like that?

A's RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE 9

June 18th 2:36 PM

Excellent work, Hanna. You can't tell from this text, but I'm beaming. You kept at least 80% of your secrets so now I'm keeping my end of the bargain. As a reward for your good behavior, I am going to let you ask Ashley Benson one question. Start thinking and make it a good one. My people will be contacting you soon via email. Remember, I still know everything.
-A

So yay, looks like I did pretty good! In fact I did so good, I never even got to find out what secrets A had on me, I kinda wish I knew... anyhow, I submitted my question to Ashley Benson, the actress that plays Hanna. I haven't heard back yet but I will be sure to post about it when I do!

I was sad when the game came to an end, I had a TON of fun playing! Hearing from some of the other players that played different characters it seemed like our challenges were similar but different. Others also had to make phone calls and post things to the message boards for different reasons. I'm highly impressed that ABC Family pulled this off and so smoothly too, they did a wonderful job creating something highly original and interactive, I personally find it unforgettable.

So there you have it, the Pretty Little Liars Secret Keeper Game. But my PLL obsession doesn't end there. The morning the show premiered I finished the first book (I had held onto that for like 4 years!) and went onto finish the rest of the books in about 2 weeks. I will have reviews of the whole book series throughout the summer, the first 3 are already up, see the first here. If you like the tv show I would DEFINITELY suggest the books!

Also, fellow PLL fans Khy and Carol and I are doing chat posts about all of the episodes so be sure to check those out this summer as well! You can find part of each chat on each of our blogs, here is the latest for episode 3 and 4.

Hope you enjoyed!

Photos credit of ABCFamily.com (and me)

Hardcover vs Paperback 88

Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor

Hardcover

Paperback

Amazon.com:

If Kate were Lady Brett Ashley, the devastating heroine of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, she'd spend her summers careering around the Riviera in her coup, breaking hearts by the dozen--because why not? In reality, Kate's never even had a boyfriend, and she'll be spending the summer abetting her mom's lame ploy to make her dad jealous: running off to Cape Cod and crashing at the seaside home of her wealthy friends, the Cooper-Melnicks. To add to the shame, the Cooper-Melnicks' gorgeous daughter is a bit like Lady Brett, and she seems less than thrilled to hang out with her new houseguest. Any dreams Kate once had of a perfect summer are ruined.
That is, until Sarah's cute, witty friend Adam starts drawing Kate into the fold--and seems intrigued. With Adam around, Kate feels like she just might have a bit of heart-breaker potential after all. But when a breezy summer romance quickly grows more complicated, can Kate keep pretending her relationship with Adam is just a carefree fling? Or will she take the risk and tell him her real feelings? Suddenly Kate is asking herself a question she thought she'd never stoop to: Is she girlfriend material?

Well let's see here, the hardcover I used in a lookalike a while back but I think it does more for me than the paperback. Usually I like people on it, face wise but it's just so smack in the middle and there is barely any contrast in the photo. The girl does look how I would imagine her to look from the summary though!

Hardcover or Paperback?

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Monday, July 05, 2010

"Ding dong the bitch is dead."

This week we are discussing both episodes 3 (To Kill A Mocking Girl) and 4 (Can You Hear Me Now?)! As always make sure to visit my partners in crime Carol and Khy for the rest of the chat!

**WARNING SPOILERS**



TV SHOW VS BOOK SERIES

Alea: The girls are so so so much friendlier on the show than in the books! I was shocked Spencer told Hanna about the Golden Orchid thing!

Khy: Me too! Hanna is not as bitchy on the show.
I don't really believe she's so popular on the show.

Carol: The girls are tamer and more friendly with each other in the show. They're like BFF's instead of the acquaintances they're in the books.

Alea: Yeah she's a little laid back for being a Queen Bee.

Did you notice her outfit at the end of Episode 3 when they are in the woods, seems like something she wouldn't be caught dead in! An off the shoulder sweatshirt and Uggs?!

Khy: For Rosewood that is practically low class. xD

Alea:
Yeah it was just weird, really caught me off guard.

Carol: Haha yeah, Khy. Emily is more glamorous in the show and Hanna is laid-back when not in school.

Khy
: Speaking of the town, they don't seem to be mentioning that everyone there is insanely rich, like in the books.

Alea:
Yeah I guess maybe we are just supposed to assume but it's hard to do so. Like in the books they wear uniforms but on the show they don't so it's not instantly known they go to private school, we don't get that reminder.

Khy:
Other things: some characters are barely in the show. Like Mona.

Alea:
Agreed but I think in the books she kind of came and went but I agree, like she was in the car with Hanna when she crashed it in the book.

Khy
: Jenna, too. I hate when she just walks by and says something and doesn't appear again.

Alea:
Yeah I guess they are trying to up her creepy factor.

Khy
: She's not creepy, she's just weird.

Carol: Jenna seems more bitter in the show. Like she's mad and resentful towards the girls and Alison even though she doesn't know it was them that made her go blind.

Alea: I think they have watered down A's messages, but I really liked the one she left for Hanna, on the radio as a request. That was good!

Khy
: Oooh I liked that one a lot!



Alea:
And the lipstick on the mirror was good. I guess the delivery of the messages is better on the show but the words of the messages in the books are better.

Carol: Very true. Those two messages were creepy but it's better worded in the books

Khy: That's true.
I don't like what they're doing with Toby/Emily. It's weird.



Alea: If I remember correctly his smile gives me chills, in a bad way.
Do you think A told Aria's mother about Meredith without blackmailing Aria first (like in the book) as punishment for them blocking A from sending them messages?

Khy
: Yeah, I think that was the idea.
I can't wait to see what they do with Aria's mom.

Alea: Yes it will be interesting, since we don't even know if Meredith and Byron are together right now, it will have to veer away from the books.

Carol: Aria's mom seems much nicer in the show than the books so I don't know if she'll kick Aria out of the house like she does in the book.

Photos credit of ABCFamily.com

Summer of Sarah: Keeping the Moon

This summer is the SUMMER OF SARAH, Sarah Dessen that is! Over 9 weeks (week one was 6/21 at The Story Siren) all 9 of Sarah's books will be featured on different blogs and also on the Sarah-land ning which is an interactive community for Sarah Dessen lovers. Each of the blog stops will have a different book up for discussion and giveaway but a lot of the action will be happening at Sarah-land, including trivia, quotes and giveaway so be sure to stop by there! Here's the Keeping the Moon page! And the conversation is also crossing over to twitter with the hashtag #sarahland.

In Sarah's Words (from here):

Keeping the Moon was the last book I wrote while working at the Flying Burrito, and because of that it is thick in all of my best waitress stuff. I think I got a lot more confident working there, and I wanted to use that experience to say something bigger about the fact that no matter how you look, it’s what is inside that gets you where you truly are meant to be. Colie was different from my other narrators because she was so angry, and as a writer I really enjoyed getting into her voice. Morgan and Isabel, the waitresses, are basically composites of a lot of the girls I worked with at the Burrito, who always amazed me with their humor, emotion, and absolute loyalty to each other. After Someone Like You, which was a heavier book that dealt with some big issues, Keeping the Moon was a fun, less-stress summer book that still had something to say. If you read my novels, you’ll see that I love a book set in the summer: it’s such a good, concise time period, and there’s endless potential for what can happen. A lot of Colie’s experiences,and the details in the book, are very personal for me: I did have a customer say “Duh,” to me when I didn’t immediately know the answer to her question, and I have a tendency to make devilled eggs whenever I get upset or am stressed about something. (Right before a book comes out, my house is filled with eggs. Filled.) I don’t like to pick favorites of my books, but if I had to Keeping the Moon would be a serious contender.

It just says a lot of things about self-esteem that I have learned, and continue to learn. Isabel, especially, has stuck with me, and when I am feeling particularly wimpy I remind myself of her, and this story, and it makes things a little easier.

And luckily enough I have one signed copy of Keeping the Moon to giveaway to one of you! Here's how to enter!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. only.

The giveaway will end July 19th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

**Prize provided by publisher**

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Perfect (Pretty Little Liars #3) by Sara Shepard

**WARNING SPOILERS FROM PREVIOUS BOOKS**

Amazon.com:

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem.

Aria can't resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can't keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister.

Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it's hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. They better do as I say . . . or else!

-A

Perfect is probably my favorite of the Pretty Little Liars series. It was the first book that made me really sit up and say WOW A really means business! A is really out to do some serious damage to these girls. Some big stuff goes down in this book! I love how each book starts with something from the past when Ali was still around, we get to know more and more about her and her very apparent baggage and more and more clues are thrown into the mix.

I'm not sure which book this really starts to come into play but there are some really great instances of creepiness in this series. Like the girls see people in the shadows watching them or crouching by cars. It totally works too, it freaked me out! And there is a Rosewood Stalker on the loose too in this book, I mean it's bad enough we have A but now another stalker too! Or is it? And A starts to keep creepier, leaving the girls notes in places that make it obvious that A had just been standing right by them.

I'll leave you with this, if you find the first two books just ok and are thinking of not continuting to read, at least read through this book and then see how you feel. From about this book on I read about a book a day until the end of the series!

Perfect was released on May 27th 2008
Genre: Young Adult
4/5 Stars
Purchased at Half Price Books

Saturday, July 03, 2010

This Week In Books Or Can You Believe I've Already Finished One of These?


Monday:

How to Marry a Marquis by Julia Quinn
Rushed to the Altar by Jane Feather
The Naked Viscount by Sally MacKenzie


Since I can't frequent my old favorite library bookstore maybe I'll start frequenting my local one with a smaller but really good selection! These are from there.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

I had been thinking about this book earlier in the day, became curious about it and then it showed up on my doorstep for review. Randomly awesome!

Tuesday:

Crush On You by Christie Ridgeway

For review from Amazon Vine, the start of a new series ya!

Wednesday:

White Heat by Brenda Novak

For review, came with this really cute bag and lip gloss!

Thursday:

Fortune by Megan Cole

For review.

Tweet Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick

I was sort of obsessed with the idea of this book so I went and got it at Borders and it very much lived up to my expectations! Yay!

Friday:

Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Stay by Allie Larkin

For review, Stay from Amazon Vine.

Saturday:

Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

For an upcoming blog tour.

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen Sampler

I don't see these sampler things too often so that's fun and I can't wait for this book!

Friday, July 02, 2010

Lookalikes 108

The Girl with the Mermaid Hair by Delia Ephron


The Mark by Jen Nadol (old cover see new cover below)


Well, I can't say that I like the stock photo so I'm glad that one of the covers used a new one! But more specifically I find the color palette of the Girl with the Mermaid Hair a bit dated.

The Mark (final cover)

Thanks to Mya, Lenore, Yan, Sharon, Kelsey and Paradox who also noticed this lookalike!

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Thursday, July 01, 2010

BLOG TOUR: Twice Tempted by a Rogue by Tessa Dare

Amazon.com:

The daring members of the Stud Club are reckless gamblers and no strangers to risk—until love raises the stakes in Twice Tempted by a Rogue.

Luck is a double-edged sword for brooding war hero Rhys St. Maur. His death wish went unanswered on the battlefield, while fate allowed the murder of his good friend in the elite gentlemen’s society known as the Stud Club. Out of options, Rhys returns to his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire, expecting anything but a chance at redemption in the arms of a beautiful innkeeper who dares him to take on the demons of his past—and the sweet temptation of a woman’s love. Meredith Maddox believes in hard work, not fate, and romance isn’t part of her plan. But when Rhys returns, battle-scarred, world-weary, and more dangerously attractive than ever, the lovely widow is torn between determination and desire. As a deep mystery and dangerous smugglers threaten much more than their passionate reckoning, Meredith discovers that she must trust everything to a wager her heart placed long ago.

I definitely preferred the storyline in Twice Tempted by a Rogue to that of the first in the trilogy One Dance with a Duke. I loved the idea of someone that felt so worthless and unlovable (Rhys) paired with someone that had always loved him no matter what (Meredith). I think this is the first book I've read that had a widow so that was a welcome change for me! I liked how confident she was in her abilities to take care of the people that frequented her inn. I also really liked that the mystery of the murder of the Stud Club founder took a back seat for most of the book, a lot less horse talk.

We did get to learn a bit more about Julian who takes center stage in the third and final book, Three Nights with a Scoundrel. In the first book I didn't really like him but he's starting to grow on me and we are also introduced to Cora who plays a role in the mystery and has a sorted past but ends up fighting for a new life for herself, I liked that!

Rhys and Meredith's back and forth keep me going through most of the book, with new revelations about their shared past constantly being brought up but towards the end I started to feel like the magic was sort of fading for me. I don't know what it was, maybe the predictability of the genre? I really don't know. Overall still a fun book.


Twice Tempted by a Rogue was released on June 22nd 2010
Genre: Historical Romance
3.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by publisher

This Year In Movies: June

This month I didn't get a chance to watch much, sad I know... but I did get to see a few things! 2 tv shows on dvd and 3 movies!

Eureka Season 2- I'm pretty hooked on this show, it's a lot of fun! Humor, mystery, science (ok that part doesn't really matter to me), sexual tension, it's a lot of fun!

Eureka Season 3- And I just kept on going here as well! Some shocking things happened in Season 3 I was kind of surprised, I'm excited for Season 3.5 which just came out on dvd yesterday! But then what can I watch, I'll be all caught up!

It's Complicated- I really liked this movie until the end, the end was not what I was have picked, it just didn't really make sense, whatever.

When In Rome- I love Kirsten Bell (Veronica Mars!) so of course I had to see this! Sadly it was a sub-par chick flick with some odd bits here and there. But that being said, it was still fun to see Kirsten Bell try her hand at a lead role on the big screen and there were some really funny moments.

Eclipse- Pretty much what I expected, fun and cheesy! I really want to read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner now, the girl looked so sad and scared in the movie, I felt so damn bad for her!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

"Waiting On" Wednesday 89

The Julian Game by Adele Griffin

Amazon.com:

All new girl Raye Archer wants is a way into the in crowd, so when ice-queen Ella Parker picks her to get back at her ex, the gorgeous Julian Kilgarry, Raye is more than game. Even if it means creating a fake Facebook identity so she can learn enough about Julian to sabotage him. It's a fun and dangerous thrill at first, but Raye hadn't counted on falling for Julian herself and igniting Ella's rage.

As Raye works to reconcile the temptress Elizabeth with her real-life self, Ella serves up her own revenge, creating an online smear campaign of nasty rumors and trashy photographs. Suddenly notorious, Raye has to find a way out of the web of deceit that she's helped to build, and back to the relationships that matter.

Adele Griffin's riveting novel explores the issues of generation Facebook: the desire to be someone else, real versus online friends, and the pitfalls and fallouts of posting your personal life online for all the world to judge.

Released August 26th 2010

Not really sure what's going on with the cover looks like they've taken this facebook fight into outerspace and the future a la the Fifth Element, but maybe the book will clue me in to what's happening there. Anyhow the book sounds great. I really like stories that deal with technology and how it can be used for good and for BAD. And mean girl stories are always interesting too!

What can't you wait for to be released?

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!
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