New YA Releases: 31 January, 2012

January 30, 2012

Here are some upcoming releases this week.


Paperback:


+ Destiny and Deception by Shannon Delany
+ New Girl by Paige Harbison


Hardcover:


+ Lenobia's Vow by P.C. & Kristen Cast
+ Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
+ Dead Winter by Chris Priestley
+ Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton
+ Moonrise by Ivy Devlin

Buy Online.. FREE SHIPPING!

January 28, 2012


Buy This Book from Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide


Hey guys! So I want to make a post about this so I can explain some things.

I just became an affiliate with TheBookDepository.com. It is an online bookstore which ships FREE worldwide, and I buy pretty much all of my books there. The reason for this is to benefit you, I promise.

I am not the richest person ever, and buying books so frequently can be pretty expensive. Now, in the near future I plan on hosting some awesome giveaways. I understand that eventually this may become too difficult or expensive depending on how often and the kinds of prizes I decide to offer. An easy solution to this is this new affiliation. Basically, if you purchase a book on the site through my referral, I will receive a commission. This commission will then be used for books and swag to offer in giveaways on this blog or my YouTube channel.

I would really appreciate your support, so if you are interesting in buying any books please consider The Book Depository. Just click on the button above, or the one located in the sidebar >>

If you are interested in becoming an affiliate yourself and earning a commission for each book purchased through your referral, then click HERE to sign up.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

January 27, 2012


Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Released: May 24, 2011
Series: n/a
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardback
Pages: 396
Source: Purchased
Buy it: Book Depository (free shipping) | Amazon


The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.


I was a little disappointed with Beauty Queens. I did find it amusing and witty throughout most of the book, and I had a few giggles. But aside from the clever humour and the way it was written and composed, I felt it a little lacking.
I did like the book though, but the plot and characters made it difficult to get through. This book took me two months to read. TWO! And by the end of it, reading this book became very difficult.

The plot was very interesting and unique, but I didn't like its portrayal. The story line was very silly, and at some times I found this to be a little too much. Sometimes it seemed to come across a little immature and cheesy and I wish it would have been a little more serious at times. It did address some serious and controversial issues, so the light-hearted nature of the book worked both for and against these parts of the story. On one hand, it resulted in a lighter tone and didn't make a big deal out of these issues, but at the same time is kind of poked fun at them. I understand that this wasn't intentional or anything, and I liked how the book didn't take a serious turn when these elements popped up, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people found it a little offensive.

It was just a little too out there for my taste. With books, I like them to be believable. Paranormal and fantasy books are 'out there' and non realistic, but the way that the world is built and the characters within the setting need to be realistic in order for the story to come across as feasible. In Beauty Queens, everything was just too bizarre and crazy for me to believe that this would or could ever happen.

The characters just didn't work for me. They started off as your stereo-typical beauty queens, but as the story progresses, their underlying personalities are unveiled. They had their own unique quirks and characteristics, with some of the prominent personalities clashing. Aside from this though, there was just something lacking. There wasn't enough room for character development and I am guessing that this may have been a result of the mass of characters the story followed. It jumped from one beauty queen to the next continuously, so you didn't get to see much growth in any of them - maybe with the exception of one or two.

I would like to end this on a more positive note, however, because I feel that although this wasn't my cup of tea, I know that some people really enjoyed this book and so might you. I did love the dialogue between the characters. I thought it was well written and very clever. The format of the book as well was very unique and I really liked it - funny commercial breaks, witty footnotes scattered throughout the book. These elements definitely made the book more interesting.

Top Ten Tuesday (5)

January 24, 2012




I am participating in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Each week, there is a specific topic for a top ten list.

This weeks topic is:
FREEBIE!
I chose: Top ten I am excited for in 2012


I missed this Top Ten Tuesday at the beginning of the year and would love to share my giddiness over some new releases this year. This Top Ten was not confined to books published in 2012, but I decided to pick ones that were.


1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
I LOVED LOVED LOVED Divergent, the first book in the trilogy, and I cannot wait to get stuck into Insurgent! I am most anticipated for this book.



2. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
The sequel to Wither, and I am looking forward to seeing how this story continues. In the first book, the story was very closed off from the outside world so I am curious to see how much of that aspect is shown in this book.



3. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
I fell in love with Stephanie Perkins' writing in Anna and the French Kiss. Then I read Lola and the Boy Next Door and was completely blown away. I cannot wait to read this one!



4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
This book looks incredible! I know I will thoroughly enjoy this book, most definitely.



5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I have not already got this book and I don't know why! I have heard nothing but amazing things about this book and it sounds incredible.



6. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
I loved Across the Universe so much. It was amazing. And I know this one will be just as great if not better. Plus the cover is beautiful! Just like AtU :)



7. Revived by Cat Patrick
I read Cat Patrick's other novel, Forgotten and really enjoyed it. I haven't heard much about this one, but I know it is another standalone book about a drug that can bring back the dead. How creepy and awesome does that sound!



8. Untitled (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi
Shatter Me was amazing and had an intriguing ending. I really want to read the sequel to see what happens next!



9. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Another amazing sounding book. I really really REALLY want to get my hands on this book. It only happens over a period of 24 hours! Must have been tricky to do, so I am interested to see how it turned out.



10. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
This story sound AMAZING! I want to get my hands on this ASAP!





What books are you looking forward to reading this year? If you have already done this TTT, leave a link to your post in the comments :)

New YA Releases: 24 January, 2012

January 23, 2012

Here are some upcoming releases this week.


Paperback:


+ The Taming by Teresa Toen and Eric Walters
+ Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M. James


Hardcover:


+ Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
+ There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff
+ Everneath by Brodi Ashton
+ The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe
+ Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo
+ Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald
+ Havoc by Jeff Sampson

Giveaway Spotlight: 23 Jan 2012

This week I have a couple of giveaways to inform you about.

Signed Shatter Me & swag giveaway @ That Hapa Chick

Enter for your chance to be 1 of 2 winners. One lucky person will win a signed copy of Shatter Me along with signed swag. The second winner will receive signed swag.

US only
Ending 1st Feb



1,000 subscriber giveaway @ Simple Kate

Enter for your chance to be won of 4 lucky winners. 3 winners will receive a book of their choice out of those in which Kate has reviewed on her channel. 1 grand prize winner will get to pick THREE!

International
Ending 29 Feb

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

January 20, 2012

Video review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Further book details and a quick review overview is located below the video, if you just want an idea of what I thought about the book.






The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Released: September 27, 2011
Series: Mara Dyer Series [Book One]
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 452
Source: Purchased
Buy it: Book Depository (free shipping) | Amazon


My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something. A pseudonym. A nom de plume, for all of us studying for the SATs. I know that having a fake name is strange, but trust me—it’s the most normal thing about my life right now. Even telling you this much probably isn’t smart. But without my big mouth, no one would know that a seventeen-year-old who likes Death Cab for Cutie was responsible for the murders. No one would know that somewhere out there is a B student with a body count. And it’s important that you know, so you’re not next.


Review Overview:
This book leaves me speechless. It was incredible.

Mysterious and creepy throughout the whole book. Full of beautiful descriptions which are not overdone, which will leave you with chills.

The characters were amazing. Mara Dyer is an unstable and unreliable main character with snark. Then Noah Shaw starts out as your typical bad-boy/player who grows and develops into a lovable character.

Pick this book up. Now.

December Wrap Up | 2011

January 16, 2012

Another quiet month, I am so lazy!



Books purchased:

- Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
- Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld




Books read:

- Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
- City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
- The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

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