Sunday, March 31, 2013

Best of the Bunch ~ March 2013


Best of the Bunch is a monthly meme hosted by Always Lost in Stories on the last day of every month. The aim of this meme is to share the best book that we have read in that month and give it our Best of the Bunch award.




March reads:

Sever (The Chemical Garden #3) by Lauren DeStefano ~ 4 Stars ~ My Review
Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike ~ 3 Stars ~ My Review
Artemis Fowl Audio Book by Eoin Colfer ~ 5 Stars
Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout ~ 4 Stars ~ My Review
Vampire Bites: A Taste of the Drake Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey ~ 5 Stars
The Prince (The Selection #0.5) by Kiera Cass ~ 4 Stars 
With Thiss Kiss: Part One by Eloisa James ~ 3 Stars ~ My Review
Bloodfever (Fever #2) by Karen Marie Moning ~ 5 Stars ~ My Review
Unchain (Unknowing #3) by Diantha Jones ~ 5 Stars 
Spark (Elemental #2) by Brigid Kemmerer ~ 3 Stars ~ My Review
Breathless (Elemental #2.5) by Brigid Kemmerer ~ 5 Stars ~ My Review
Scarlet (Scarlet #1) by A.C. Gaughen ~ 3 Stars ~ My Review
Road Rage by Karina Kantas ~ 2 Stars ~ My Review
With This Kiss: Part Two by Eloisa James ~ 5 Stars ~ My Review
As You Like It by William Shakespeare ~ 4 Stars
Pure (Covenant #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout ~ 5 Stars ~ My Review



And the Best of the Bunch winner of March 2013 is...

It's a tie! Ö

Seriously though... I can't choose. This is the first time this has happened. Last month it was so easy to pick a best book but this month... not to easy. And I just can't.
I loved Sever (most of it anyway...), Artemis Fowl audio book, Opal, Bloodfever, Unchain, Breathless, With This Kiss: Part Two and Pure the best.
So that's a bunch of winners there! :D


Showcase Sunday #18


Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted every sunday by Vicky @ Books Biscuits and Tea, where we can highlight our newest books or bookish swag we bought, borrowed, downloaded or received.




~For Review:
Demons in the Big Easy by Jamie Marchant
Thanks to the author for sending it to me! <3



~Freebie:
Miss Me Not by Tiffany King
Amazon Freebie!

~Freebie:
The Den by Jennifer Abrahams
Amazon / Kobo freebie!


~Freebie:
Kindred (The Kindred #1) by Erica Stevens
Amazon / Kobo freebie!

~Freebie:
Talented (Talented #1) by Sophie Davis
Kobo Freebie!


~Freebie:
Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas
Amazon freebie!

~Freebie:
Forsaken Dreams (Escape to Paradise #1) by MaryLu Tyndall
Amazon freebie!


Friday, March 29, 2013

Feature & Follow #27


Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted on friday by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read to gain new followers and make new friends!

You can follow me through GFC, Networked Blogs, Linky, e-mail or Bloglovin' Just let me know if you did and I'll follow you back!
--




This week's question:
Tell us about the most emotional scene you’ve ever read in a book – and how did you react?


I don't know if it's the most emotional scene I've ever read but it's the only one I can come up with at the moment. The scene at the end of Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I feel like I can't say too much about it because I don't want to spoil the book for others. But when Katy couldn't get away anymore and Daemon said he loved her. My heart broke. It was so sad!  
And also, in Sever by Lauren DeStefano when a certain character dies. Also trying not to spoil it for you guys but oh did it kick me in the heart like Lauren said it would. I actually cried there. 




Thursday, March 28, 2013

Giveaway: The Black Shard by Victoria Simox (INT)

Another giveaway! This one is also thanks to Victoria Simox. She offers 3 e-copies of her book The Black Shard. Check it out and enter if you're interested! 




~About the book:


Kristina's stay at summer horse camp is horrible to say the least, and it's all because Hester and Davina are there as well, making her life miserable. When Hester's cruel prank goes terribly wrong, it's actually what sends the three girls back to the magical land of Bernovem. In Bernovem, Kristina is very excited to see her former friend, Prince Werrien. When he invites her to sail with him on his ship to his homeland Tezerel, putting it simply, Kristina can't refuse. Reunited with her gnome, dwarf, animal, fairy friends ... and best of all, Werrien, things seem like they couldn't get any better for Kristina. But when Werrien becomes fascinated with an unusual seeing stone, the "Black Shard," Kristina is haunted by a ghostlike old hag. Struggling against suspicion, guilt, illness, and ultimately the one who wants to possess her soul, Kristina will see it's in her weakest moment that she will encounter more strength than she has ever known.




~About the author:


Victoria was born in ScarboroughOntario,Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She now lives inWestern Washington with her husband, Russ and their three children, Toby, Kristina, and William. Her other family members are aChihuahua, named Pipsy and two cats, named Frodo and Fritz. Besides being an author,Victoria is a home-schooling mother of twelve years and an elementary school art teacher of eleven years. In her spare time, Victoria enjoys managing her two older children's Celtic band. She also loves writing, reading, painting watercolors, hiking, good movies, and just simply hanging out with her family and friends.








a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Pure
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Covenant #2
Publication: April 3rd 2012 by Spencer Hill Press
Genre: Young Adult ~ Paranormal
Format: Paperback, 329 pages
Cover Rating: 4/5
Overal Rating: 5/5

  
There is need. And then there is Fate...
Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.
When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her. When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.


~My thoughts: 


I've had Pure for a while now, sitting on my shelf, withering away, waiting for me to read it, after I'd finished Half-Blood which I really liked. I don't know what made me pick it up. Maybe because Apollyon is coming out soon and I want to be caught up with the whole series by then? Maybe I'm just in need of some awesome JLA books. Whatever it was, I'm so freaking happy (and kinda scared) that I did.
I've seen countless 5 star reviews of it on Goodsreads. I'm not kidding, pretty much the only reviews there are 5 stars, as it usually is with JLA's books. Only here and there the rare 3, 2 and 1 star review. I can't imagine what somebody thinks giving this book such a low rating but whatever. So far any of JLA's books have not yet disappointed me. I haven't read them all. Definitely not by far but I doubt there'll be one I'd hate. Anyhow... I'm getting off topic again. In one word this book was just awesome!

So much happened in this book, it's hard to get my thoughts together for this one. Alex is so strong in this book. No doubt about that. Although there were times when I wanted to slap her, especially when she was always staring at Aiden with this love sick puppy look. I don't have anything against Aiden. He's swoon-worthy and the zoo thing he did for Alex was pretty cute but even he knows that they can't be together. I was even sad for them when Aiden kind of broke things off with her in a cold way. But luckily Seth was there for Alex. Making me even love Seth more. Truly, Seth was probably the biggest reason for me to totally love this book. I can't express how much I love him. And he cares so much for Alex. Team Seth all the way!

There didn't seem to be too much action in this book, except at the end. Major battle. Though I reminded me of Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3) I can't help myself but be reminded of it. Anyway, though not much action, I love it anyway.
And it was sad, so damn sad. Someone dies. Which was really obvious from book one that that person was going to die and yet my heart is still broken. 

Jennifer L. Armentrout did it once again! She knows how to capture the attention of her readers time and time again. Pure was heart-breaking but an awesome sequel to Half-Bloood nonetheless. I can't wait to read more!





~Favorite Quotes:
I studied him silently. He looked like he always did—a living, breathing statue. Perfection without any humanity, and yet he was here.
“You're too important, too special to throw everything away for a pure." Seth sighed, dropping his hands to mine. "Now, I brought us a movies to watch, the one that has sparkly vampires in it. I thought you'd be down for that.”
“So... uh, you're a Team Edward kind of guy?"
He snorted. "No. I'm Team James or Team Tyler's Van, but apparently neither of them won by the look of it. She's still alive.”
He hadn’t left, and apparently, Seth was a cuddler.


~About the author:
USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.


Visit Jennifer at:


Purchase Pure at:


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Cover Reveal: Frigid by J. Lynn

So... I signed up for the cover reveal of Sentinel but then it turned out we're revealing the cover for Frigid instead! Huge surprise there! But this cover is amazong nonetheless. Here we go... :D




For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love. 

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have. 

But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

Frigid will be available in digital formats on July 30th 2013
Print release of Frigid will be November 5th 2013





J. Lynn, also known as Jennifer L. Armentrout, is a # 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. She lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.





I love this cover and can't wait to get this book. July, would you hurry up, please? ^_^

How about you guys? Love/like/hate the cover?
Let me know!



Waiting On Wednesday: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

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





My WOW pick of this week:


~Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X #1) by Richelle Mead
Hardcover, 464 pages
Expected publication: June 4th 2013 by Dutton Adult
In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.



I can't wait for this book. Richelle Mead is one of my favorite authors so I can't wait to read this one. It sounds awesome!


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays: Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout


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




My teaser:
This was pretty much when the Guards behind me decided they were going to try to make me do this. And that is when I decided I was going to be hitting someone again.



~Pure (Covenant #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Paperback, 329 pages
Published April 3rd 2012 by Spencer Hill Press
There is need. And then there is Fate... Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her. When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her. When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.





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!


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Showcase Sunday #17


Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted every sunday by Vicky @ Books Biscuits and Tea, where we can highlight our newest books or bookish swag we bought, borrowed, downloaded or received.




~Bought:
Deity (Covenant #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I bought this book because I want to read the second book in this series soon and I didn't want to have to wait for the next one.

~Bought:
Elixir (Covenant #3.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Also bought this while I was at it. Really cheap on The Book Depository. <3


Gifted:
Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid #1) by Richelle Mead
This book was kindly gifted to me for RAK March by Mariska @ Me and My Books. Thank you so much! :D

~Won:
Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
I won this book from Jessica @ Jess Resides Here. So glad to finally have it. I've wanted to get it sooner but somehow I never did. Until now! 


~For Review:
Hopeless (Hopeless #1) by Colleen Hoover
I've heard SO much about this book so I'm really curious about it now that I've been accepted to review it. Thanks to Atria Books and Edelweiss!

~For Review:
I recently finished part two and loved it so I can't wait to get on with part three! Thanks to Avon and Edelweiss!


~For Review:
Bitten by Deceit by Shawntelle Madison
Thanks to NetGalley!

~For Review:
A Moment (Moments #1) by Marie Hall
Thanks to Marie Hall Publishing & NetGalley!


~For Review:
Influential Magic (Crescent City Fae #1) by  Deanna Chase
Thanks to Bayou Moon Press & NetGalley!


~For Review:
Dragon Call (Lunes & Lords #1) by E.R. Davis
Thanks to NetGalley!


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Know Me Better #7


Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by Kathy @ I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. Each week she will pick 5 questions off of her author interview lists to answer. She invites us to share our answers to these questions as well.




~This week's questions:
What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
What is most memorable about your high school years?
Have you ever gotten up early for a "black Friday sale"?
Were you named after anyone?
Would you bungee jump, skydive or something similar?


~What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you? 
I can't think of anything at the moment. People have done kind things for me a lot. Like, I'm always surprised some authors would be so kind enough to send their books or swag all the way to Belgium just for me.

~What is the most memorable about your high school years?
At the moment I can only think of this one time where I found out my Dutch teacher was the cousin of a pretty popular writer here in Belgium, which got me to reading that writer's books. One of those books is still my favorite Flemish book. And that's saying a lot because I barely read any Flemish books anymore. Also around that time I really got back into reading.


~Have you ever gotten up early for a "black Friday sale"?
Um... since we don't have Thanksgiving here in Belgium, we don't have black Friday sales either.

~Were you named after anyone?
My father named me, and he always told me I was named after princess Stephanie of Monaco.

~Would you bungee jump, skydive or something similar?
Never ever! I'm extremely afraid of heights so doubt it I will ever do something like that. Also, I don't want to die. lol. :P




Now it's your turn!
Share an answer to one or more of these questions as a comment or post your answers on your blog and link up!