Monday, 1 October 2012

Cover Reveal: Every Never After - Lesley Livingston

Every Never After (Once Every Never #2)

by Lesley Livingston

Expected publication: March 12th 2013 by Razorbill Canada

Sunday, 30 September 2012

Book Review (148): The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back - Sariah Wilson

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back

by Sariah Wilson

Publcation: 15th August 2012

Publisher: Fire & Ice Books

Pages: 194

Genre: Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.

My Thoughts...

I've long been a fan of re-tellings of fairy tales, especially when they're done well and this book was no exception.
I loved the idea of hearing the side of the so-called 'ugly stepsister' it gave a new dimension to the Cinderella fairy tale.
Wilson has taken a classic, flipped it around to a character most people never liked in the story and made her an extremely likable character, it definitely works that the book is based in the present and it's a contemporary romance version.
The story is based on Mattie (Ugly Stepsister) who has a list of grievances against her stepsister Ella (Cinderella), the biggest one being that Ella's boyfriend Jake has long been Mattie's crush ever since she was nine years old and she's jealous that not only is Ella perfect in every way and has everything she wants, but she also has the one thing that Mattie really wants.
With her father whom is a famous painter and who spends more time painting than spending time with her and a mother who she only speaks to on Skype and not very often I might add, she feels the world is against her until one day she is in detention with Jake and he expects her to lie so he can leave and she refuses, shocked that a girl has finally denied him something that has never happened before, he verbally abuses her and Mattie feels that she's lost her chance of ever being with him until the day that they are partnered together for an english assignment and realise that they both have more in common than they ever would have guessed.
She also decides to compete against Jake for class president with the help of Ella, who Mattie realises isn't as bad as she once thought she was.
This book has it all romance, crush-worthy male leads, bitchy girls and a lot of fun all wrapped up into one story.
I was excited to read that there will be a second book based on Ella's character set four years later after this book and I'm excited to see where Mattie is at and what she's up to.
I give this a well deserved 4/5.
A Big Thanks To The Author Sariah for A Copy Of Her Book To Review.

Saturday, 29 September 2012

Cover Reveal: Invisibility - Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Invisibility

by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.

Expected publication: May 2013 by Philomel/Penguin

Blog Tour: Guest Post: Anew - Chelsea Fine, Book Review (147).

Anew (The Archers of Avalon #1)

by Chelsea Fine

Publication: 7th December 2011

Publisher: Acacia Publishing

Pages: 385

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery...until she met a boy with a familiar voice.

Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet's determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he's kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer.

Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet's world becomes even more muddled. While she's instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she's impossibly drawn to Tristan--and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past...might just be the death of her.

(Playlist for ANEW available at http://ow.ly/8vpU2)

My Thoughts...

OMG! How have I not read this book before now?

This book has been on my wishlist for a very long time, so when I found out that there was going to be a blog tour I jumped at the chance, and I was not disappointed!.

There's nothing that I disliked about this book it was absolutely brilliant, my only complaint, that cliffhanger at the end, I honestly wanted to cry, I desperately need to get my hands on the next book Awry, like A.S.A.P!

And so the story goes that two years ago Scarlet awoke in a forest with amnesia, flash forward two years and she is living with a guardian Laura, with still no memory of her previous life.

One day she is at her town Avalon's annual Kissing Festival (where strangers will just come up and kiss you), with her best friend Heather (who is extremely fashion conscious and is all the more hilarious because of it) when she spots a boy more than once standing at a distance staring at her, not being able to see his face she is distracted by Gabriel a new boy in town, but there is something very familiar about his voice and she instantly feels at ease in his prescence, they soon start dating but Scarlet feels that Gabriel is hiding something, and when she turns up unexpectedly at his cabin she soon finds out what that is, an identical twin brother Tristan.

Tristan also seems very familiar to Scarlet but she doesn't know why, but there is a very good reason for that and I loved the surprise of finding out what that was.

This has one of the most original storylines in the paranormal genre that I've ever read and it just added to the fantastic storyline which Chelsea has written.

And don't get me started on the Archer brothers, um yum!

Tristan is just as Elvis Presley would put it 'a hunk, a hunk of burnin' love', I love him and I'm definitely hoping that there is a happily ever after in the end for him and Scarlet, I know that Gabriel is her boyfriend but in my opinion Tristan should win hands down.

I love this series so much, definitely up there with my favourites, and I stongly urge everybody to pick up a copy of this book.

I give this a huge 5/5.

Guest Post..

High School Head Rush

By Chelsea Fine

I’m one of those rare nerds who actually liked high school. I know. SO lame. But I didn’t like high school because of my classes, or teachers, or my ability to drive legally. ;) No. I liked high school because of the books and bands that rocked my world during those pivotal years of my adolescence.

The Books

· The Harry Potter Series WHOA. Harry Potter blew my mind. I used to walk the halls of my high school sighing to myself as I thought, “I wish this was Hogwarts. I would kick butt with a wand.”

· The Vampire Diaries Series I read these books long before they were televised and loved them. You can imagine my complete and utter glee when TVD was made into a TV show. #TeamDamon, baby!

· Fahrenheit 451 I had to read this for English and wow. This book freaked me out in the best kind of way. To this day, I’ll catch myself shushing someone who’s speaking to me while I’m watching TV, and think to myself. “Oh crap. It’s happening. The world is coming to an end and someone’s going to come burn all my books.” Haha. *shifts eyes from side to side* But seriously.

· Babysitting Is A Dangerous Job This book is about a babysitter who gets kidnapped along with the kids she’s in charge of. I’m sure if I read this now I’d laugh at myself, but at the time I was like, “Oh snap. I’m never babysitting again.”

· The Notebook Aw…who didn’t love this book? I read the whole thing in one day, cried my eyes out, and immediately started rereading it. It was the best heartbreak of my life. And actually, The Notebook was the book that made me want to be a writer. True story.

The Music

· Letters to Cleo I loved this band! In high school, I taught myself how to play guitar just so I could play Alouette And Me. Ahhh! :) Big time fangirl.

· Matchbox 20 Is it just me or was every single song on the Yourself or Someone Like You album amazing? I have them all memorized.

· Sheryl Crow I loved her in high school and still love her today. Why? Because she’s a real rock star. No pretences, no showy nonsense, just good music. *love*

· Third Eye Blind This was my painting music. I was really into art in high school (still am) and I used to lock myself in my room and paint for hours while listening to Narcolepsy.

· Jewel I think every girl in the 90s would listen to Jewel and think, “Wow. She’s so deep and dark. I want to be just like her.” Haha. Jewel’s music really helped me tap into my poetic side. I was a guitar-playing, poem-writing artist. *rolls eyes* So typical. Haha.

That pretty much sums up my high school experience. Good books. Good music. Good head rush from it all. ;)

Author Bio:

Chelsea lives in Phoenix, AZ where she spends most of her time writing young adult fiction, painting murals, and avoiding housework at all costs. Her obsessions include: superheroes, coffee, sleeping-in, and crazy socks. She lives with her husband and two children, who graciously tolerate her inability to resist teenage drama on TV and her complete lack of skill in the kitchen.

Links:

Goodreads ANEW: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12875436-anew
Goodreads Chelsea Fine: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4984399.Chelsea_Fine
Chelsea Fine’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChelseaFineBooks
Chelsea Fine’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/chelseafine
Chelsea Fine’s Website: http://www.chelseafinebooks.com/
Archers of Avalon Series Website: http://www.thearchersofavalon.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Anew-Archers-Avalon-Book-ebook/dp/B006IX77S6/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1343767834&sr=1-3
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anew-chelsea-fine/1107693940?ean=2940013813731

Friday, 28 September 2012

Book Review (146): Intangible - J, Meyers

Intangible (Intangible #1)

by J. Meyers

Publication: 31st January 2012
Publisher: J. Meyers
Pages: 264
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Twins Sera and Luke Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift.

Then Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing about Luke’s ability? He’s always right. And he can’t do anything about it.

My Thoughts...

I was very eager to start reading this book after how much I enjoyed reading the prequel Intuition.
After the ending from the prequel I couldn't wait to see how it was resolved, and I definitely wasn't disappointed!
We start off the story with twins Luke and Sera, they are both gifted with different powers, Luke is able to see the future and Sera can heal people with her touch.
Luke has had a vision of Sera's death and as yet he has never yet been able to stop anything he sees from coming true, and so he is extremely worried about how he will enable it from coming true.
He keeps the vision from Sera who notices that something is bothering him and while they usually tell each other everything this he can't.
Sera starts being followed by a man named Jonas he seems to be there one moment and then has disappeared the next, there is also a new boy in town Marcus whom Sera is attracted to but unbeknown to her he is hiding a secret that puts her and Luke's lives in danger.
Unknown to Luke and Sera is that they are the prophesied in the Children Of The Prophecy.
There are quite a few different paranormal entities in this story which I loved and also the fact that the story is told from the pov from not only the lead characters but the supporting characters too which gave us a glimpse into what they were thinking and why they did the things that they did.
This book was full of action, adventure and the bond between twins who would do anything for each other even sacrifice their lives for one other.
I'm highly anticipating the next book in the series, fingers crossed that there is one because I really want to read more about Luke and Sera's world.
I highly recommend this book, a great addition to the paranormal genre.
I give this 4/5.

A Big Thanks To J. Meyers For The Copy Of This Book To Review.

Mailbox Friday.

Friday's Mailbox.
I've decided that I will stop participating in In My Mailbox, the reason being I seem to get a lot of books every week and it takes me forever to put them all together in one post and link them up.
So I will be doing Mailbox Mon-Fri every week

Brought...