Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays #26


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.




My teaser: 
"But you just said you loved me."
"I do, Mer. That's the point. I can't make you like me. I can't stand the thought of you hungry or cold or scared. I can't make you a Six."

-page 52, The Selection by Kiera Cass











 Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Giveaways to check out!

Beth @ Page-Turner is holding an awesome international giveaway!

Happy blogoversary!

What can you win?

The winner can choose 1 book out of all the books that has been reviewed on the blog. 

Just click on the picture to go to the giveaway!



Shatter Books is holding 2 international giveawa in honor of their 6 month anniversary and 300 Followers!


What can you win?

An August YA release of choice from the list!




What can you win?

 A July YA release of choice from the list!

Just click on both pictures to go to the giveaways!




Soumi @ Pages From My Thoughts is holding a great giveaway!
As always it's international.

What can you win?

A hardback copy of Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

Giveaway ends 08/25
Just click on the book to go to the giveaway! 

~



Sunday, July 29, 2012

Cover Characteristic #8


Cover Characteristic is a weekly meme hosted on sunday by A Muggle's Magical Book Blog.The point of this meme is to find book covers that fit with the theme that the host each week selects. 




This week's cover characteristic:
Beach




5. That Summer by Sarah Dessen


4. The Story of Us by Deb Caletti


3. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen


2. Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel


1. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

~

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Review: Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

Title: Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian
Author: Eoin Colfer
Series: Artemis Fowl #8
Publication: July 10th 2012 by Hyperion Book CH
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 328 pages
Source: Purchase from The Book Depository
Cover Rating: 5/5
Content Rating: 5/5
First Sentence: The Berserkers lay arranged in a spiral under the rune stone, looping down, down into the earthboots out, heads in, as the spell demanded.

~Synopsis~
Seemingly nothing in this world daunts the young criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl. In the fairy world, however, there is a small thing that has gotten under his skin on more than one occasion: Opal Koboi. In The Last Guardian, the evil pixie is wreaking havoc yet again. This time his arch rival has somehow reanimated dead fairy warriors who were buried in the grounds of Fowl Manor. Their spirits have possessed Artemis’s little brothers, making his siblings even more annoying than usual. The warriors don’t seem to realize that the battle they were fighting when they died—a battle against Artemis—is long over. Artemis has until sunrise to get the spirits to vacate his brothers and go back into the earth where they belong. Can he count on a certain LEPrecon fairy to join him in what could well be his last stand?

New York Times best-selling author and comic genius Eoin Colfer will leave Artemis Fowl fans gasping up to the very end of this thrilling finale to the blockbuster series.


My thoughts: 
Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian is the powerful conclusion in the thrilling Artemis Fowl series by Irish writer Eoin Colfer. Full of enchanting magic, witty dialogue and the action we are used to with the Artemis Fowl series this final book was one explosive page turner. 

I've been a huge fan of the series ever since I picked the first book up in a local library about six years ago when I was 14 years old. The shiny cover drew me in to pick it up and read the blurb. It sounded simply amazing and when I read it I knew I was hooked for life. Now all those years later the final book came out and I purchased it as soon as I could. 

I wasn't hooked from the first page, no, I was hooked from the first word. Eoin Colfer has a way with words that just keeps you turning page after page and this is what I did. The start of the book to me started off with such a bang! And since I had read the first chapter that was released a few months ago I already knew this book was going to be astonishingly good. 

The book started out with Artemis Fowl being cured from his Atlantis Complex, which we know from the previous book. But much rest Artemis and the others don't get because pretty much right away they find themselves in a critical situation once more. Opal Koboi once again has cooked up another diabolical plan, her most insane one ever. When everything falls apart, literally, in Haven but also in the human world, Artemis, Holly and Butler have to travel to Fowl mansion to try and stop Opal and safe Artemis's family and the world.

My favorite character as always is of course Artemis Fowl, our genius who we all love. In this book at times he was quite unsure about himself, until he got his act together and got to work on his most dangerous plan ever to safe all the humans. Holly, also one of my favorites was as always kickass and brilliant. She never backs down from a fight and is willing to break the rules, once more. There were also quite a few chapters revolving about Foaly and him trying to safe is wife. I loved that. All our other favorite characters were of course in it too. Butler, Juliet, Artemis's little brothers Miles and Beckett who got possessed by the Bezerkers, who Opal had released to destroy human population and also Mulch. 
The world of Artemis Fowl I love extra because most of it is in Haven, the underground fairy world and Ireland where Artemis lives. I LOVE Ireland! 
The plot was awesome and so damn exciting! I couldn't guess what to expect. Every page something different could happen, which made it so good!

The only negative thing I have to say is the ending. I'm not sure you can call it negative but I'm sort of confused and shocked over it. Or maybe I'm just sad that it's all over.

I'm not going to talk about the ending and what happening because I don't want to be too spoilery and ruin it for others. But let's just say I so didn't expect it. It was brilliant, nontheless, but damn... my heart kinda broke.

All in all this final Artemis Fowl book was brilliance in its most glorious way. Eoin Colfer has once again done it. I just want to thank him for giving us readers such magnificent books. 
I am sure that everyone who has read all the previous books will love this one so much. And even if you haven't read the books yet, the Artemis Fowl books will blow your socks off! 5 stars way deserved!





~Favorite Quotes~

Onscreen, Foaly rubbed his eyelids with his index fingers.
"Yeah, yeah. Here we go. Captain Short goes rogue once more. Hands up who's surprised. Anyone?”
Chaos reigned, and the survivalists eagerly unwrapped the kidskin from their crossbows.
Phase one of Opal's plan was complete.
I feel like Alice falling into Wonderland.
A line came to him: It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.





~About the author~
Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father (an elementary school teacher, historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama teacher). He first developed an interest in writing in primary (elementary) school with gripping Viking stories inspired by history he was learning in school at the time!

After leaving school he got his degree from Dublin university and qualified as a primary school teacher, returning to work in Wexford. He married in 1991 and he and his wife spent about 4 years between 1992 and 1996 working in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998, based on his experiences in Tunisia; it has since been translated into many languages. A sequel followed in 1999, followed by some other books (see below). Then in 2001 the first Artemis Fowl book was published and he was able to resign from teaching and concentrate fully on writing.

He says, "I will keep writing until people stop reading or I run out of ideas. Hopefully neither of these will happen anytime soon. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Find Eoin Colfer on: Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Youtubewww.eoincolfer.com




Other books by Eoin Colfer:




~

Friday, July 27, 2012

Review: Blood Moon by Alyxandra Harvey

Title: Blood Moon
Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Series: The Drake Chronicles #5
Publication: June 19th 2012 by MPS
Genre: Young Adult ~ Paranormal Romance
Format: Paperback, 298 pages
Source: Purchase from The Book Depository
Cover Rating: 5/5
Content Rating: 3/5
First Sentence: "You tried to eat your boyfriend's face?"

~Synopsis~
When the vampire tribes convene for the rare Blood Moon ceremonies, Solange's fight with her feral nature, a mysterious stranger, and forbidden magic put all of the Drakes in terrible danger.
The Drake brothers have been raised knowing it is their responsibility to protect their younger sister at all cotsts. But when Nicholas is caught between saving his sister, Solange, or his girlfriend, Lucy, whom will he choose?


My thoughts:
Blood Moon by Alyxandra Harvey is the 5th book in Alyxandra Harvey's amazing vampire series, The Drake Chronicles. As always the book was cute, funny and full of nail biting danger.

The POVs of this instalment in the series were from Lucy, Solange, Nicholas and Kieran.
The book starts right after the cliffhanger we were forced to endure from Bleeding Hearts. (I really hate cliffhanger's I do. Evil things they are.) 
The vampire tribes are coming together for the blood moon ceremonies. Lucy is struggling to make her enrollment in the Helios-Ra high school working while still being able to see her boyfriend Nicholas and his family. Solange is fighting more than ever against her blood lust and fails miserably. Nicholas is facing his own issues with choosing between his sister and his girlfriend when he gets kidnapped. And Kieran is going true a rough patch when he and Solange break up. Adding the mysterious Constantine and the creepy voice in Solanges head and the book is full of turns and twist you don't really expect.
My favorite POV was Lucy's because as always she's so funny and never backs down from anything. I love her relationship with Nicholas. They are just so cute! Nicholas's POV I also loved. I love how he's so protective about Lucy and his family. He's also very brave in the book, especially when he was kidnapped. He never stopped fighting and even tried to stop the baddies from hurting others. It's no secret that I was never a huge fan of Solange. And in this book she's just plain scary. I know that it's all because of that voice in her head but really, she makes stupid decisions. And I just don't like her personally at all. Kieran is one of my favorite characters of the Helios-Ra hunters. I hate how Solange has hurt him and I do hope they make up at some point because they are good together. Kieran is what Solange needs.
When the voice in Solange's head or Viola how we come to know it, takes Solange over, (Which I had seen coming from miles away!) the shit really hit the fan. She's now queen instead of Solange's mother Helena and made Nicholas go all dark on us and bite Lucy! I have no idea what was happening and was just freaking out at the end. What a ending! 

I gave Blood Moon 3 stars but that doesn't mean it was a bad book. I just didn't like it as much as the other books in the series, which I all gave 5 stars. So it was a little disappointing for me personally. The thing I think pushed the book down was Solange and her weirdness. If it was only Lucy and Nicholas I would've probably loved it. Or you know a POV with Quinn. Because he's my favorite Drake brother. I want to know how he and Hunter are doing together. *sigh*
The thing I think saved the book from being only 2 stars is Alyxandra Harvey's wonderful writing and her ability to turn every book she writes into a cute, funny and nail biting, amazing story. I love all the Drake brothers from Sebastian to Nicholas. They're all so hot and cute and just amazing. Everyone must get to know them!
The Drake Chronicles is a must for readers who like an original twist on the vampire genre. 



Favorite Quotes:
With her long dark hair and green eyes, she was pretty as a doll. You know, the kind of doll that came to life at night to kill monsters.
“Oh Crap," Connor muttered. "She's going Darth Vader on us.”

Gotta love Connor. :') 



About the author:
Alyxandra HarveyAlyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada
 with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.

Among her favourite books are 'The Wood Wife' by terri Windling, 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte, and of course, 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennet is her hero because she’s smart and sassy, and Mr. Darcy is, well, yum. Aside from the ghosts, she also lives with three dogs and her husband.

Find Alyxandra on: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads



Also by Alyxandra Harvey:


  • Ruling Passion, which uncludes Hearts at Stake, Blood Feud, and Out for Blood


And the passion continues, with three original e-novellas featuring your favorite characters from the Drake Chronicles...


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Review: Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Artist: Al Rio 
Scripter: David Lawrence 
Illustrations: Cliff Richards
Series: Fever
Publication: July 10th 2012 by Del Rey
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Graphic Novel ~ Hardcover, 148 pages
Source: The Book Depository
Cover Rating: 5/5
Content Rating: 4/5

~synopsis~
An all-new Mac & Barrons story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning, marvelously adapted into a full-color graphic novel by writer David Lawrence and illustrator Al Rio

In Fever Moon, we meet the most ancient and deadly Unseelie ever created, the Fear Dorcha. For eons, he’s traveled worlds with the Unseelie king, leaving behind him a path of mutilation and destruction. Now he’s hunting Dublin, and no one Mac loves is safe.

Dublin is a war zone. The walls between humans and Fae are down. A third of the world’s population is dead and chaos reigns. Imprisoned over half a million years ago, the Unseelie are free and each one Mac meets is worse than the last. Human weapons don’t stand a chance against them.

With a blood moon hanging low over the city, something dark and sinister begins to hunt the streets of Temple Bar, choosing its victims by targeting those closest to Mac. Armed only with the Spear of Destiny and Jericho Barrons, she must face her most terrifying enemy yet.


My thoughts: 
Oh, where to begin, where to begin... 
It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Karen Marie Moning and the Fever series. I fell in love with the books last fall when I was reading them, book after book. When they announced that there was going to be a graphic novel I was like... 
More Barrons?!


Hell yeah!!!

If you haven't read the Fever series I wouldn't recommend reading this graphic novel before you have read the books because it wouldn't make any sense to you. Fever Moon is a whole new story starring Mac and Barrons and not just the first book done over. The story I liked but it wasn't mind blowing or anything like I felt during reading the series. But the amazing art makes up for it. 
Fever Moon takes place somewhere in Shadowfever. An unseelie fae is making lots of victims, leaving them in coma sand stealing their faces. When Dani is one of the victims Mac knows she has to find it. Like... "It's personal now, bitch." Not that she said that but that was the feeling I had. lol. 
Like I said before with the story I didn't have a wow kinda feeling but you have to remember that it's a graphic novel and not a full book. The art was definitely on a higher level.
Pretty much all the characters from the Fever series were in it at some point. Dani, Rowena, Inspector Jayne, the other sidhe-seers, the fae. Even the Dreamy Eyed Guy. 
And of course Mac and Barrons.
I mostly loved the way the characters were done. Dani with her red hair and freckles was pretty much how I pictured her. Rowena I sort of pictured differently for some reason. I'm not sure if I'm the only one thinking that. The fae, seelie and unseelie were very nicely done. The seelie princes were all godlike and half naked, just like I imagine them. Unfortunately there wasn't much V'lane in it, who's a favorite character of mine. Instead there was a lot of that Velvet guy. Only 1 or 2 pictures I think. The unseelie ones were spot on, monstrously. Now about Barrons. At first I had to get really used about how he looked because really I wouldn't be able to imagine him. In my mind he changes everytime but now I like how he looks like. A lot. And about Mac. I like her look. It's sort of how I pictured her. Only her boobs look bigger than her head but I figure it's a thing with graphic novels so I'm letting that one slide.
The overal art just blew my mind. It's amazing! I wish I could draw like that. *sigh*

So even though I didn't like the story all that much the art and especially readng abou Mac and Barrons again definitely made up for it.







About the author:

Karen Marie MoningKaren Marie Moning (rhymes with 'awning') is the # 1 New York Times 
bestselling author of 12 novels, including the Rita-award winning Highlander novels and the internationally bestselling urban fantasy Fever series. Her books have been published in 21 languages, and her events draw fans from all over the world. She divides her time between the mountains of Georgia and the beaches of Florida.

Visit her on her Official website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Waiting On Wednesday #26


Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.





The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Expected publication: January 22nd 2013 by Hyperion
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.


Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.


Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.


Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.


In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays #25


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.




My teasers:
Onscreen, Foaly rubbed his eyelids with his index fingers.
"Yeah, yeah. Here we go. Captain Short goes rogue once more. Hands up who's surprised. Anyone?"

-page 62, Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

Chaos reigned, and the survivalists eagerly unwrapped the kidskin from their crossbows. Phase one of Opal's plan was complete.

-page 70, Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer





 Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Giveaways to check out!


YA Novelties

YA Novelties is holding a "Welcome to Our Blog" Giveaway! 

What can you win?

A book of choice from TBD up to $15!
There will be 4 winners! 
And of course it's international.

Just click on the picture to go to the giveaway.







Fiction Freak

Fiction Freak is holding a "Fall Into Summer" Giveaway! 

What can you win? 
Any fall release (from August 16 - November 31)
It's international as long as The Book Depository ships to you.

Just click on the picture to go to the giveaway.


~

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Showcase Sunday #13


Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky @ Books Biscuits and TeaThe point of this meme is to showcase the books you bought, received or downloaded in the past week.




Wake by Amanda Hocking (ARC) - Thanks to Sara McClung (Won)
Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker (hardcover) - Thanks to Brianne @ Memories Overtaking Me (Won)
Fever Moon: The Fear Dorcha by 
Eulogy's Secret by Grace Elliot (ebook) - Thanks to Cat @ Forever Lost In Books (won)
Pale by Chris Wooding (ebook) - Thanks to Barrington Stoke (for review)
The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer (ebook) - Thanks to Egmont USA (for review)



What did you receive this week? :]