Cover Reveal And Giveaway: The Star Child - Stephanie Keyes

The world is about to be cloaked in darkness.

Only one can stop the night.

Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role.

Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

Release Date - 21st September 2012

Publisher - Inkspell Publishing

About The Author:

Stephanie Keyes was born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania and has worked for the past twelve years as a corporate educator and curriculum designer in the Telecommunications industry. She holds a Master's degree in Education with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Duquesne University and a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University. She is a classically trained clarinetist, but also plays the saxophone and sings. When she's not writing, she is a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband and mother to two little boys whom she cites as her inspiration for all things writing. The Star Child is Mrs. Keyes' debut novel.

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Giveaway Open To U.S And U.K Only!

Celtic knot designed antiqued bookmark – Will go very good with this book! J

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I So Want This In My Bedroom.....

This would look so good in my room!

Cover Reveal: Doomed - Tracy Deebs

Doomed

by Tracy Deebs

Beat the Game, Save the World.
One Stuxnet type worm,
One Greek-themed MMO,
One real world scavenger hunt,
Three teenagers on the run,
And a ten-day countdown to total nuclear annihilation.

Pandora’s Box isn’t just a myth anymore …

When seventeen-year-old Pandora Walker opens an email attachment, she uploads the most frightening worm ever invented—and in doing so, brings about total technological Armageddon. Everything from the internet to communications to utilities collapses and suddenly Pandora finds herself on the run from Homeland Security, the FBI and every police department in the country, all of whom blame her for the technological wasteland sweeping across the U.S.. With the help of stepbrothers Eli and Theo, her neighbors and the two hottest guys in school-- plus codes encrypted in a world famous MMO-- she sets out on a real life scavenger hunt that only she can solve. A scavenger hunt that pits her against one of the most brilliant men in the world—the maker of the Pandora worm. Her father. Only by unraveling the clues left by him in the MMO, and in real-world places around the U.S., can they hope to beat the clock ticking the days off until the entire planet is Doomed.

Expected publication: January 8th 2013

In My Mailbox (36).

In My Mailbox Is A Weekly Meme Hosted By Kristi The Story Siren.

Review.

A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2) - Suzanne Young (Harper Collins Australia)
Survive - Alex Morel (Hardie Grant Australia)
Wicked Nights (Angels Of The Dark #1) - Gena Showalter (Harlequin Teen Australia)
Blood Storm (Lharmell #2) - Rhiannon Hart (Random House Australia)
Throne Of Glass (Throne Of Glass #1) - Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Australia)

Brought.

One Moment - Kristina McBride
Dark Destiny (Dark Mirror #3) - M.J Putney
52 Reasons To Hate My Father - Jessica Brody
Chosen Ones (The Lost Souls #1) - Tiffany Truitt

(ARC) Book Review (110). Everything Left Unsaid - Jessica Davidson

Everything Left Unsaid

by Jessica Davidson

Publication: 1st August 2012

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Pages: 305

Genre: Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

"I wait for him, the cold seeping through my clothes, until it finally dawns on me that he's not coming back. And I wonder why he chose her instead of me? Why he went looking for her when I was right there."


Tai and Juliet have been best friends forever – since they met at kindy and decided to get married in first grade.

They understand each other in the way that only best friends can.

They love music, beach walks, energy drinks and, they are slowly discovering, each other.

As they dream of adventures beyond the HSC – a future free of homework, curfews and parents, a life together – their plans are suddenly and dramatically derailed.

For Tai is sick.

And not everything you wish for can come true.

A poignant story of first love, hope, grief, family, and the twistedness of life.

My Thoughts.

Where have you been hiding Jessica Davidson? This is such an emotionally draining book, after finishing it I couldn't stop thinking about it, I suggest a box full of tissues and a place where you can bawl your eyes out alone!

Which to me is the sign of a fantastic storyteller.

This is the most depressingly, wonderful book I've ever read, it sent me on a roller-coaster of emotions, it was heartbreaking and sent me barreling towards the inevitable ending that you knew would happen but at the same time hoped it wouldn't.

The last half of this book had me in tears and I had to escape to the solitude of my room, because this book is so overwhelming, I just wanted to sit and reflect on the brilliance of this novel, I felt like I'd lost a friend once it was over.

Juliet and Tai have been best friends since the first day of Kindergarten, now that they are both in Year Twelve they have finally admitted their feelings for each other, and after finally becoming a couple Tai finds out that he is dying from a brain tumor with only a year left to live.

Told in alternating perspectives we get both sides, Tai having to deal with the fact that he won't get to do all of the things that he dreamed of doing after high school and Juliet who's faced with reality that she will lose her boyfriend and best friend.

And with Tai faced with the decisions on whether he wants to die at home or a hospital, or if he wants to be buried or cremated just made this so hard to get through without a steady stream of tears running down my face, and having him sit by and watch everybody else's lives carrying on around him knowing he won't get to do any of those things is heartbreaking.

Amidst all the tragedy is a fantastic book which everybody needs to read, this is real life, it's not going to end with a couple looking forward to their future together, but instead how a girl is having to carry on without the person she expected to spend her life with.

One of my favourite contemporary's of all time, I'm so glad I read this book.

I give this 5/5.

A Big Thanks To Pan Macmillan Australia.

Feature And Follow Friday (34).

Q: What drove you to start book blogging in the first place?

I used to visit all these different blogs and one day I thought you know what, I love reading why don't I start a blog of my own. Another reason was that no-one else in my house really reads so I don't really have anybody to talk to when I find something really exciting that's book related.

Blog Tour: Persephone (Daughters Of Zeus) - Kaitlin Bevis And Book Review (109).

I'm extremely excited to be today's stop on the Persephone Book Tour.

As part of the tour I will be reviewing this fantastic book.

Persephone

by Kaitlin Bevis

Expected publication: July 6th 2012 by Musa Publishing

There are worse things than death, worse people too


The “talk” was bad enough, but how many teens get told that they’re a goddess? When her mom tells her, Persephone is sure her mother has lost her mind. It isn’t until Boreas, the god of winter, tries to abduct her that she realizes her mother was telling the truth. Hades rescues her, and in order to safely bring Persephone to the Underworld he marks her as his bride. But Boreas will stop at nothing to get Persephone. Despite her growing feelings for Hades, Persephone wants to return to the living realm. Persephone must find a way to defeat Boreas and reclaim her life.

My Thoughts.

I cannot put into words how much I loved this book, I never wanted it to end, I loved everything about it, I struggled to put it down, what Bevis has written is one of my favourite books of the year!

I've never read a book before based around the Hades and Persephone myth and I couldn't have picked a better book to start me off, I will definitely be seeking out the sequel to this, I had an inkling when I was getting towards the end that this is part of a series but a little part of me was hoping it wasn't because I don't have the patience to wait to see what will happen next.

"Persephone..."

And just that one word started my journey into this fantastic world that Bevis has created, Persephone is sixteen still at school and works with her Mother in her flower shop, lately Persephone has had the feeling that someone is watching her.

I could feel someone watching me. Eyes boring a hole in the back of my neck, crawling over my skin. The hushed sounds of my classmates did little to make me feel safe.

One afternoon while working in the shop a man  comes in saying strange things and after grabbing her and scaring her he runs off, she tells her Mother and it's then that her Mum informs her that Persephone is a goddess as she also is, her Mum is in fact Demeter and her father is Zeus, thinking that her Mum is crazy she drives to her best friend Melissa's house where she confirms the story and tells her that she was born to be Persephone's priestess, upset she drives off to her favourite park and it's there she's attacked by somebody with the ability to harness ice and traps her until she is saved by four people on horseback, and finds that the guy who is helping her is in fact Hades.

Hades? I struggled harder against the heaviness of my eyes. The Hades? Lord of the Underworld, Hades?

After the stranger kisses her she wakes up in the Underworld, where she finds Hades in a conversation with her Mother in a hologram.

'You're in the Underworld." Mom's voice was gentle. "But you're not dead. Hades has made it possible for you to travel between planes"

"When I breathed my essence into you - It also marked you as my bride."

And so Persephone finds herself married to Hades and also Queen of the Underworld, and so to keep her safe from Boreas (the god that tried to kill her) she is to stay in the Underworld until the spring equinox when it will be safe for her to venture into the world above.
I loved the interaction between Persephone and Hades, I was just cheering them on until they'd both admit their feelings for one another.

"So..." I turned to Moirae, who glared daggers at me, and quickly turned back to Hades. "Uh, what did you today?' He looked surprised by the question. "It's barely been an hour since I last saw you." "It's called small talk," I snapped. "You should try it some time."

I can't count the amount of times I laughed throughout some of the dialogue in this book, most of the funniest dialogue was saved for Persephone and Hades which I loved and was perfect for their characters and their love/hate relationship.

"You look nice tonight." Surprise flitted across Hades' face. "Thank you. You look lovely as well." "I always kind of figured you'd be ugly." 

I could go on and on adding quotes but I want everyone to experience this superb story and writing themselves.

 Everyone needs to check this book out, I can't rave enough about it, Bevis is definitely a new talent to keep an eye out for,

I give this 5/5.

Kaitlin Bevis' Blog
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(ARC) Book Review (108). Pushing The Limits - Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits

by Katie McGarry

Publication: 25th July 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen Australia

Pages: 376

Genre: Contemporary 

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

SO WRONG FOR EACH OTHER...AND YET SO RIGHT.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins--the smoking hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket--explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

My Thoughts.

One of the best author debuts I've ever read, Katie McGarry is sure to be the next big thing in YA!

It's hard to describe just how much I loved this book, I was constantly thinking about it whilst I wasn't reading it, and when I was I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

It's the sign of an amazing writer when all you want to do is eat, breathe and sleep in this story which was both heartbreaking and intense, I loved the chemistry between Echo and Noah, they were perfect for each other and their struggle to find themselves and to fight for their love for each other just makes them one of my all time favourite YA couples.

The build up we get with Echo trying to regain her memories of that day that she has blocked from her mind, was a great suspense and I loved trying to figure out what had happened, and I never could have guessed what it was in a million years it was tragic, and I can understand why she didn't want to remember and why her brain shut down such a traumatic memory.

As for Noah well besides the fact that he's hot, the way that he cares for his two brothers was so sweet and he too had a tragic story which gave both of them a lot in common, these two damaged souls found solace in each other, and each found someone who could understand what had happened to the other.

What also made this book amazing was the alternating chapters, I loved that we could know what each other was thinking and could find out back stories to them both, the memories they both had of happier times back before their world's got torn apart.

The supporting characters in this book were really great Isaiah and Beth who were also battling their own demons and Mrs Collins, Echo and Noah's counselor and the reason for them officially meeting, if only all counselor's were as sweet and helpful as she was.

There was absolutely nothing I could find fault with in this book, I strongly urge everybody to pick this book up, clear some time because you'll definitely never want to put this book down.

I give this a huge 5/5.

A Big Thanks To Harlequin Teen And Morey Media.

Cover Reveal: Wolf Pact - Melissa De La Cruz

Wolf Pact (Wolf Pact #1)

by Melissa de la Cruz 

From the bestselling author of Blue Bloods, comes a series that will reinvent the myth of the werewolf in the same way that Blue Bloods did with vampires—with style and NYC flair!

Lawson and his brothers escaped from the underworld and now lead desperate, dangerous lives. They’re pursued by the Hounds of Hell from one town to the next, never calling any place home. But when the hounds finally catch up with them and capture the girl Lawson loves, the hunters become the hunted. Lawson will stop at nothing to track down the hounds, even if the chances of saving Tala are slim...

The only hope he has lies in Bliss Llewellyn. Bliss, too, has lost someone to the beasts and will do anything to get them back—even if it means joining forces with the insolent, dangerously good-looking boy with a wolf’s soul.

Expected publication: September 25th 2012 by ATOM

Waiting On Wednesday.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on....

Dance of Shadows

by Yelena Black

Expected publication: December 24th 2012 by Bloomsbury/Walker Books for Young Readers

Curtains up on a deliciously dark new YA trilogy from the creators of Lauren Kate’s Fallen.

Vanessa Adler isn’t so sure she really belongs at the School of American Ballet. But dance runs in her family. It’s been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Her grandmother and mother were prima ballerinas, and her older sister Margaret was, too. That is, until Margaret mysteriously disappeared from school three years ago. Vanessa is heir to the family’s gift and the only person who can fulfill her sister’s destiny. She has no choice.

But she never could have guessed how dangerous the school is. The infamous choreographer, Josef, isn’t just ruthless with his pupils, he guards a sinister secret, one in which the school’s dancers—prized for their beauty, grace, and discipline—become pawns in a world of dark, deadly demons.

Pretty Girl-13

by Liz Coley 

Expected publication: March 19th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books 

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scout camping trip.

Now she’s returned home…only to find that it’s three years later and she’s sixteen—or at least that’s what everyone tells her.

What happened to the last three years of her life? 

Angie herself doesn’t know.

But there are people who do—people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren’t locked inside her mind.

With a tremendous amount of courage and support from unexpected friends, Angie embarks on a journey into the darkest corners of her mind. As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: when you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the people responsible, or is there another way to feel whole again?

Liz Coley’s alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing—and ultimately empowering—page turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

The Murmurings

by Carly Anne West

Expected publication: March 5th 2013 by Simon Pulse

After her older sister dies from an apparent suicide and her body is found hanging upside down by one toe from a tree, sixteen-year-old Sophie starts to hear the same voices that drove her sister to a psychotic break.

Revolution 19

by Gregg Rosenblum

Expected publication: January 8th 2013 by Harper Teen

Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us.

Nick, Kevin, and Cass have spent their whole lives in a community in the wilderness, hiding out from the robots that have enslaved mankind. But when the bots discover their location, they barely make it out alive — only to discover that their home has been destroyed and everyone killed or captured. Now, the siblings must risk everything to save the only people they have left in the world.

Hysteria

by Megan Miranda

Expected publication: February 5th 2013 by Walker Childrens 

Mallory's life is falling apart. Her boyfriend was stabbed. He bled to death in her kitchen. Mallory was the one who stabbed him. But she can't remember what happened that night. She only remembers the fear . . . 

When Mallory's parents send her away to a boarding school, she thinks she can escape the gossip and the threats. But someone, or something, has followed her. There's the hand that touches her shoulder when she's drifting off to sleep. A voice whispering her name. And everyone knows what happened. So when a pupil is found dead, Mallory's name is on their lips. Her past can be forgotten but it's never gone. Can Mallory live with that?

Cover Reveal: Vortex - Julie Cross

Vortex (Tempest #2)

by Julie Cross

Expected publication: January 8th 2013 by St. Martin's Griffin

Cover Reveal: The Stone Demon - Karen Mahoney

The Stone Demon (The Iron Witch #3)

by Karen Mahoney

Expected publication: February 2013 by Flux 

Cover Reveal: Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)

by Cassandra Clare 

In Clockwork Princess, Tessa and her companions travel all over the world as they race to stop the clockwork army before it’s too late. As Jem’s health worsens alarmingly and his friends search desperately for a cure, can Tessa choose between the two boys she loves—even if it means never seeing the other one again?

Expected publication: March 19th 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

(ARC) Book Review (107). Black Heart Blue - Louisa Reid

Black Heart Blue

by Louisa Reid 

Publication: 25th July 2012

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Pages: 266

Genre: Contemporary/ Thriller

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Price: $16.99

Hephzibah: You've no idea what it's like having a freak for a sister. 

Rebecca: Born first, prettier, Hephzi's always been the popular one.

The Father: When he was busy with his bottle we were usually safe. Usually. 

The Mother: Her specialist subject was misery and lessons of painful silence ...

Hepzibah and Rebecca are twins. One beautiful, one disfigured. Trapped with their loveless parents, they dream of a normal life. But when one twin tragically dies, the other must find a way to escape.  Because if she doesn't, she'll end up like her sister.

My Thoughts.

This was such a gut-wrenching and chilling book, that will send a shiver down your spine and have you still thinking about it hours after you've turned the last page!

This is a courageous story of a seventeen year old girl, who manages to overcome the adversity that tragically killed her twin sister.

This was a hard book to read in the sense of the abuse that these two sisters endured at the hands of their father - the local vicar - and the complete indifference that the mother showed to his treatment of them.

What I loved was the alternating chapters, Rebecca' s took place after the funeral of Hephzibah ' Hephzi', and Hephzi's chapters detail what happened to her leading up to her death.

I never would have picked this up myself it's only because I received this book for review that I gave it a go and I'm so glad that I did.

Although you know that Hephzi's story is never going to end well you still read along hoping that there will be some kind of a miracle and Rebecca and her could escape their miserable life, but ultimately it's not to be and you really feel the urge to get to that last page and make sure that Rebecca makes it out alive and happy and away from her sorry excuse for parents whom have never shown her or her sister love of any kind.

What makes it worse for Rebecca is her facial deformity Treacher Collins Syndrome, which unfortunately makes her the victim of their father's beatings more often than not, after reading the name of her deformity I immediately researched it on the internet to get a clearer idea of what it was so I could understand it more, and I loved that not only do we get a fantastic story but also the chance to learn about a facial deformity that I'd never previously heard of, but it also brought to light the mean comments people say about others suffering from any kind of deformity, I loved that towards the end Rebecca was able to feel more comfortable in her own skin and to be able to look people in the eye and not the ground that she was so used to doing.

The ending did bring me to tears when you realise the full extent of what these two girls went through and the people who turned a blind eye and just let it continue on which sadly resulted in the death of Hephzi.

Unfortunately this happens in real life all around the world every day, and if we only helped instead of ignoring the signs things like this wouldn't happen.

I highly recommend everybody pick this up.

I give this 4.5/5.

A Big Thanks To Penguin Australia.

In My Mailbox (35).

In My Mailbox Is A Weekly Meme Hosted By Kristi The Story Siren.

Review.

(Arc) The Legacy Of Lord Regret (Strange Threads #1) - Sam Bowring (Hachette Australia)
(Arc) Deity (Covenant #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout (Spencer Hill Press)
(Arc) Cursed - Jennifer L. Armentrout (Spencer Hill Press)
The Darkening Dream - Andy Gavin (From Author)
Existence - David Brin (Hachette Australia)
Swag From Spencer Hill Press

Brought.

Once Burned (Night Prince #1) - Jeaniene Frost
Samurai Game (Ghostwalkers #10) - Christine Feehan
Once (Eve #2) - Anna Carey
Just For Fins (Fins #3) - Tera Lynn Childs
Tiger Lily - Jodi Lynn Anderson
Dark Companion - Marta Acosta

Cover Reveal: Edge Of Dawn

Edge of Dawn (Midnight Breed #11)

by Lara Adrian

Unofficial sneak peek summary from Lara:

Twenty years after the Order’s vanquish of their chief adversary, conflicts and skirmishes continue for the Breed, violence escalating toward war. Peace seems elusive, but the Order and their allies will not rest until it is won. 

For Mira, raised with the Order from the time she was a child and now the formidable captain of her own team of warriors for the Order, the fight is personal. War has cost her a great deal, though nothing more precious than the life of someone she loved dearly. Vowed to avenge his death, Mira blazes into every battle like a Valkyrie, poised to make her enemies pay. Until an unexpected encounter with a rebel leader brings her face-to-face with a startling truth, and a betrayal that will cut through her every defense . . . straight to the core of the wounded woman whose faith has never been tested more, nor her heart more deeply torn.


Expected publication: January 22nd 2013 by Delacorte Press

Cover Reveal: Soulbroken - Heather Brewer

Soulbroken (Legacy of Tril #2)

by Heather Brewer

Expected publication: March 26th 2013 by DIAL