This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

December 13, 2014

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Today I am joined by the lovely Amie Kaufman, co-author of the Starbound trilogy, in anticipation for the release of the second book in the series, This Shattered World!
We talk about getting put on watch lists due to supicious internet search history, hate to love relationship stories, the pros and cons of co-authoring among many other exciting tidbits relating to this awesome trilogy (there are cupcakes, too!)
One last thing, don't forget to check out the exciting giveaway below. All of the information is at the end of this post. Enjoy!




This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Series: Starbound Trilogy #2

Released: December 23rd 2014
Pages: 390
Source: Publisher
Buy it: Books of Wonder | The Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.



About the Authors

Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are longtime friends and sometime flatmates who have traveled the world (but not yet the galaxy), covering every continent between them. They are sure outer space is only a matter of time. Meagan, who is also the author of the Skylark trilogy, currently lives in Asheville, NC, while Amie lives in Melbourne, Australia. Although they currently live apart, they are united by their love of space opera, road trips, and second breakfasts.

Visit the These Broken Stars website for the latest news on the series and follow the authors on Twitter at @AmieKaufman and @MeaganSpoonerThis Shattered World is available for pre-order (with fun swag) and will be released in North America on December 23, 2014.



Giveaway

Grand Prize:
- Signed copies of THESE BROKEN STARS + THIS SHATTERED WORLD
- Starbound swag
- A special letter from Tarver to Lilac written specifically for this tour! This can be kept secret by the winner, or shared publicly as he or she wishes.
- Coffee with Amie and Meagan at one of their US tour stops OR a Skype visit

Other prizes:
- 5 additional This Shattered World hardbacks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tour Stops
December 8th: The Midnight Garden Secrets of Starbound: Characters
December 9th: The Book Smugglers Making an Audiobook
December 10th: Ivy Book Bindings Secrets of Starbound: Science and Settings
December 11th: Cuddlebuggery How Amie & Meagan Met
December 12th: Little Book Owl Book Talk with Amie Kaufman
December 15th: Mundie Moms Shooting the Cover
December 16th: Xpresso Reads Starbound Inspirations
December 17th: A Book Utopia Your Next Book Boyfriend
December 18th: Supernatural Snark Q&A
December 19th: Love is Not a Triangle Gender in Science Fiction

November Wrap Up | 2014

December 1, 2014

Wrap up time! I'm trying to catch up on all of these because I actually go back and use these wrap up's quite frequently. Who knew?


*****

Reviews
NONE!?

Additions to Reading Challenges
Fables: Animal Farm - Manga/Graphic Novel Challenge
Vicious - Adult Challenge




Books Acquired:
- This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
- Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix



Books Read:
- Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve
- Fables vol. 2 Animal Farm
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- The Fire Eaters by David Almond
- Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
- This Night so Dark by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

/In Progress/
- Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
- Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
- The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell
- This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

December TBR:
- Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
- The Whispers of the Fallen by J.D. Netto

October Wrap Up | 2014

November 6, 2014

This might have been one of the most stressful months, I don't know how I managed to get any reading done. Nevertheless, I am happy with how I did! November is going to be another month of stress, but hopefully not quite as much.


*****

Reviews
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (video review)
- These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner (video review)
- Talon by Julia Kagawa (video review)
- Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout (video review)
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
- Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell (video review)
- The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello

Additions to Reading Challenges
The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Adult Challenge
Fables: Legends of Exile - Manga/Graphic Novel Challenge





Books Acquired:
- Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
- The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper
- The Bodysurfers by Robert Drewe
- A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
- The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
- What is the What by Dave Eggers
- Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
- The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
- Half Bad by Sally Green
- The Dark of the Sun by Wilbur Smith
- All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
- Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham



Books Read:
- The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky
- The Other Side of Dawn by John Marsden
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
- Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
- Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell
- More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell
- The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello

/In Progress/
- Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
- Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

November TBR:
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- The Fire Eaters by David Almond
- The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell

The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello

October 30, 2014

Published by Diversion Books



The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello
Publication Date: September 4th 2014
Buy the Book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
In this dazzling first book in the EMPRESS CHRONICLES series by the author of THE MOMENT BEFORE, one courageous girl seeks keys to the past to unlock the future…

When city girl Liz is banished to a rural goat farm on the outskirts of Portland, the 15-year-old feels her life spiraling out of control. She can’t connect to her father or his young girlfriend, and past trauma adds to her sense of upheaval. The only person who seems to keep her sane is a troubled boy who is fighting his own demons.  But all of this changes in one historical instant.

One-hundred fifty years earlier, Elisabeth of Bavaria has troubles of her own. Her childhood is coming to a crashing end, and her destiny is written in the form of a soothsaying locket that has the ability to predict true love. But evil is afoot in the form of a wicked enchantress who connives to wield the power of the locket for her own destructive ends.

When Liz finds a timeworn diary, and within it a locket, she discovers the secrets and desires of the young Bavarian princess who will one day grow up to be the legendary Empress of Austria. It is in the pages of the diary that these two heroines will meet, and it is through their interwoven story that Liz will discover she has the power to rewrite history—including her own…

Readers of books like Rachel Harris’s MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY will love THE EMPRESS CHRONICLES


The Short
The Empress Chronicles is a fun and promising start to a new series. This first book really builds up towards the end. I am certainly intrigued, however I feel like the ending was cut short a little too abruptly. I would have loved to have been introduced to some of that excitement a little earlier.

The two main characters, Liz and Sisi, have very distinct voices, which worked wonderfully for the dual points of view. Their development throughout the story was wonderfully executed, and I loved getting to know the two characters.


The Long




Nina Lemay About the Author
Suzy Vitello is a proud founding member of a critique group recently dubbed The Hottest Writing Group in Portland, and her short stories have won fellowships and prizes (including the Atlantic Monthly Student Writing Award, and an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship).

suzyvitello.com | goodreads.com/suzyvitello | facebook.com/SuzyVitelloBooks | twitter.com/suzy_vitello



The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

October 29, 2014

I received this book for free from Bookworld in exchange for an honest review.


The Narrow Road by Richard Flanagan
Series: n/a

Released: September 3rd 2013
Pages: 467
Source: Bookworld
Buy it: The Book Depository | Bookworld
     - Both have free shipping worldwide

Richard Flanagan's story — of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian doctor haunted by a love affair with his uncle's wife — journeys from the caves of Tasmanian trappers in the early twentieth century to a crumbling pre-war beachside hotel, from a Thai jungle prison to a Japanese snow festival, from the Changi gallows to a chance meeting of lovers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Taking its title from 17th-century haiku poet Basho's travel journal, The Narrow Road To The Deep North is about the impossibility of love. At its heart is one day in a Japanese slave labour camp in August 1943. As the day builds to its horrific climax, Dorrigo Evans battles and fails in his quest to save the lives of his fellow POWs, a man is killed for no reason, and a love story unfolds.


The Short
This book... Where do I even start?

The Narrow Road to the Deep North had such a profound impact on me. I often had to stop mid-sentence and contemplate everything; this book, people, life. I didn't even realise at first that it had drawn me in so deeply, but when I finished I was catatonic.

Richard Flanagan is extremely talented. He has such a way with words - his style is so unassuming, but then I find myself needing to take a step back from the book and just breathe for a moment. Every single character is illustrated so vividly, and in such a short amount of time, that I found myself empathising with people that seem to have no sense of humanity.

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. One of the best books I have read.


The Long


The Blood of Olympus Giveaway | AUS Only

October 27, 2014







In celebration of YA Week at Bookworld, I am giving away a SIGNED copy of The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan & a sign poster! If you would like to enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below, but first a few requirements:
- Must be an Australian resident
- Must be 18+ or 13+ with parental consent
- The winner's email address will be forwarded to Bookworld
a Rafflecopter giveaway

September Wrap Up | 2014

October 4, 2014

Another good month of reading, but I wasn't able to read as much as I needed to :( Hopefully I can catch up in October!


*****

Reviews
The Mercenary Sea by Kel Symons & Mathew Reynolds
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare (video review)
- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (video review)
- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (video review)

Additions to Reading Challenges
The Mercenary Sea - Manga/Graphic Novel Challenge
Adventure Time: Candy Capers - Manga/Graphic Novel Challenge




Books Acquired:
- Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops by Jen Campbell
- More Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops by Jen Campbell
- Whispers of the Fallen by J.D. Netto
- Rebellion by J.D. Netto
- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente
- You by Austin Grossman
- Fables: Legends of Exile by Bill Willingham
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
- The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov



Books Read:
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
- The Mercenary Sea by Kel Symons & Mathew Reynolds
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
- Adventure Time: Candy Capers by Yuko Ota
- Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Talon by Julia Kagawa

/In Progress/
- Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
- The Other Side of Dawn by John Marsden
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

October TBR:
- The Fire Eaters by David Almond
- Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
- The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- The Empire Chronicles by Suzy Vitello

#LITTLEreadathon | Day #5

September 6, 2014


The #LITTLEreadathon is a low-key week long read-a-thon starting from Monday September 1st. The aim is to get through as many TBR books as possible! Feel free to join in for the entire week or partway. For more information, check out the Little Book Club goodreads group HERE

Day # 5

Currently reading: 
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare


Books completed: 
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Weis
The Mercenary Sea Vol. 1 by Kel Symons & Mathew Reynolds

Pages read since last update: 209

Total pages read: 708

Thoughts/Notes: Finally, a day where I got a decent amount of reading done! I'm almost through the books I had hoped to read, and this weekend is pretty busy, so I think I'm doing pretty good.

The Mercenary Sea Vol.1 by Kel Symons & Mathew Reynolds

I received this book for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Mercenary Sea Volume 1 by Kel Symons & Mathew Reynolds
Series: The Mercenary Sea
Released: September 16th 2014
Pages: 160
Source: Netgalley
Buy it: The Book Depository
     - Free shipping worldwide

Action and adventure set in 1938! The South Seas. Japan has invaded China. War in Europe is imminent. Ex-bootlegger Jack Harper captains the Venture, a refitted German U-Boat, with a crew of expats, mercenaries, and treasure hunters. They do whatever it takes to stay afloat, often running up against pirates, headhunters, and spies. Jack is always one step away from the greatest score of their lives: finding the legendary lost island of Koji Ra.

This trade paperback collects issues #1-6 of the critically acclaimed series, as Jack and the crew of the submarine Venture take a job offered by a shady American operative: rescue a British agent trapped behind enemy lines who has valuable information about the Japanese war effort.


The Mercenary Sea Vol. 1 is a promising start to what I hope turns out to be a really thrilling and exciting series. While overall I enjoyed this first volume, I feel like it has the potential to be so much more.

I didn’t quite find myself wholly invested in the story and the characters. Some of the scenes seem a bit rushed, and I would have liked to spend more time getting to know the characters. This does of course need to happen over time especially as we see each character develop and grow, but I didn’t find myself connecting with any of them until the last few pages of the volume. I would have liked to learn more earlier on as I often found myself forgetting who was who and whether they were allies or enemies.

That being said, I did enjoy the amount of action that came along with being thrust right into the story without the setup slowing down the pace. I loved how the combat scenes were executed - they were quite gripping in how fast paced they were, but also visually they were stunning and explosive.

Continuing on with the visual aspects of The Mercenary Sea, I absolutely adored the illustration style. In the absence of outlines, bold and contrasting colours created detail. The panels I found the most stunning were those with silhouettes - different shades were used in order to portray depth of field, but often these muted palettes were contrasted against a gradient of vibrant colours in the background. I couldn’t help but stop and admire them.

I’m really excited to see more of the story and the characters. It has such an intriguing premise, and with the dynamic between some of the characters, I’m sure there will be some amusing, awkward and/or hilarious scenes to come.


August Wrap Up | 2014

September 5, 2014

Thanks to the Bout of Books 11.0 read-a-thon, I was able to get a pretty good chunk of reading done! My TBR is continuing to grow, especially with uni, however...


*****

Reviews
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (video review)

Additions to Reading Challenges
Peter Pan - Classics Challenge
Circle of Blood - Manga/Graphic Novel Challenge




Books Acquired:
- The Wolf's Story by Toby Forward and Izhar Cohen
- Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child
- Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend by Steven Herrick
- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- The Fire Eaters by David Almond
- Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
- The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky
- Saree by Su Dharmapala
- Still Alice by Lisa Genova
- Combustion by Steve Worland
- Akin by Robin Murarka
- Adventure Time: Candy Capers by Yuko Ota, Ananth Panagariya & Ian McGinty
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
- Elephant's on Acid by Alex Boese
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
- The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
- Prodigy by Marie Lu
- Champion by Marie Lu
- Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
- Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
- The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
- Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
- Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
- The One by Keira Cass



Books Read:
- Endgame by James Frey & Nils Johnson-Shelton
- The Wolf's Story by Toby Forward and Izhar Cohen
- Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child
- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Meyers
- Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend by Steven Herrick
- The Night is For Hunting by John Marsden
- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
- Circle of Blood by David Mack
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

/In Progress/
- Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
- Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman

September TBR:
- The Fire Eaters by David Almond
- Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
- The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
- Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

#LITTLEreadathon | Day #4


The #LITTLEreadathon is a low-key week long read-a-thon starting from Monday September 1st. The aim is to get through as many TBR books as possible! Feel free to join in for the entire week or partway. For more information, check out the Little Book Club goodreads group HERE

Day # 4

Currently reading: 
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
- The Mercenary Sea Vol. 1 by Kel Symons & Mathew Reynolds

Books completed: 
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Weis

Pages read since last update: 153

Total pages read: 499

Thoughts/Notes: I started a graphic novel, kind of by accident, but I'm enjoying it! Past the halfway point now :S

The Empress Chronicles Release Day

Published by Diversion Books

The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello
Publication Date: September 4th 2014
Buy the Book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
In this dazzling first book in the EMPRESS CHRONICLES series by the author of THE MOMENT BEFORE, one courageous girl seeks keys to the past to unlock the future…

When city girl Liz is banished to a rural goat farm on the outskirts of Portland, the 15-year-old feels her life spiraling out of control.  She can’t connect to her father or his young girlfriend, and past trauma adds to her sense of upheaval.  The only person who seems to keep her sane is a troubled boy who is fighting his own demons.  But all of this changes in one historical instant.

One-hundred fifty years earlier, Elisabeth of Bavaria has troubles of her own.  Her childhood is coming to a crashing end, and her destiny is written in the form of a soothsaying locket that has the ability to predict true love.  But evil is afoot in the form of a wicked enchantress who connives to wield the power of the locket for her own destructive ends.

When Liz finds a timeworn diary, and within it a locket, she discovers the secrets and desires of the young Bavarian princess who will one day grow up to be the legendary Empress of Austria. It is in the pages of the diary that these two heroines will meet, and it is through their interwoven story that Liz will discover she has the power to rewrite history—including her own…




Nina Lemay About the Author
Suzy Vitello is a proud founding member of a critique group recently dubbed The Hottest Writing Group in Portland, and her short stories have won fellowships and prizes (including the Atlantic Monthly Student Writing Award, and an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship).

suzyvitello.com | goodreads.com/suzyvitello | facebook.com/SuzyVitelloBooks | twitter.com/suzy_vitello



#LITTLEreadathon | Day #3

September 4, 2014


The #LITTLEreadathon is a low-key week long read-a-thon starting from Monday September 1st. The aim is to get through as many TBR books as possible! Feel free to join in for the entire week or partway. For more information, check out the Little Book Club goodreads group HERE

Day # 3

Currently reading: 
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Books completed: 
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Weis

Pages read since last update: 64

Total pages read: 346

Thoughts/Notes: Super slow day... what can I say ;)

#LITTLEreadathon | Day #2

September 3, 2014


The #LITTLEreadathon is a low-key week long read-a-thon starting from Monday September 1st. The aim is to get through as many TBR books as possible! Feel free to join in for the entire week or partway. For more information, check out the Little Book Club goodreads group HERE

Day # 2

Currently reading: 
- The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Books completed: 
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Weis

Pages read since last update: 182

Total pages read: 282

Thoughts/Notes: I managed to finish of two books today - yay! Progress! I am about to start my third book, which I am really excited about. Hopefully I can also fly through it and make a dent in my humongous TBR pile for this month :S

#LITTLEreadathon | Day #1

September 2, 2014


The #LITTLEreadathon is a low-key week long read-a-thon starting from Monday September 1st. The aim is to get through as many TBR books as possible! Feel free to join in for the entire week or partway. For more information, check out the Little Book Club goodreads group HERE

Day # 1

Currently reading: 
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Books completed: 
- none - 

Pages read since last update: 100

Total pages read: 100

Thoughts/Notes: A reasonable amount of reading today, and I think most of the week will be around the same due to my schedule, but hopefully I can power through some books when I get the chance!

Bout of Books 11.0 Update | Day #6

August 24, 2014

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 6

Currently reading: 
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Books completed: 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Meyers
Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend by Steven Herrick
The Night is For Hunting by John Marsden
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
- Circle of Blood by David Mack

Pages read since last update: 408

Total pages read: 1,531

Thoughts/Notes: I managed to do pretty well today! I finished 2 books and made some more progress on Seraphina, which I am slowly making my way through. 
We are now on the final stretch, how is everyone going?

Bout of Books 11.0 Update | Day #5

August 23, 2014

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 5

Currently reading: 
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Books completed: 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Meyers
Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend by Steven Herrick
The Night is For Hunting by John Marsden

Pages read since last update: 127

Total pages read: 1,123

Thoughts/Notes: I didn't read as much as I probably could have today... I spent a bit of time on YouTube and changing things up on my channel. PROCRASTINATION. I did, however, spend some of my day doing research for uni as well as some video stuff I need done before the weekend, so I was semi-productive.
Tomorrow is my only full day off this week, and I hope to take full advantage of it! Maybe. Hopefully. ;)

Bout of Books 11.0 Update | Day #4

August 22, 2014

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 4

Currently reading: 
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
- The Night is For Hunting by John Marsden
- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Books completed: 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Meyers
- Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend by Steven Herrick

Pages read since last update: 222

Total pages read: 996

Thoughts/Notes: I have picked up a couple more books but haven't finished anything today. I am reading WAY too many books at once, and I hate it! Things are just getting a little hectic with uni work and review copies, so I'm trying to utilise this read-a-thon to get on track and maybe even a little ahead with all of the things I need to read.

Bout of Books 11.0 Update | Day #3

August 21, 2014

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 3

Currently reading: 
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Books completed: 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Meyers
- Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend by Steven Herrick

Pages read since last update: 222

Total pages read: 774

Thoughts/Notes: I'm starting to stress a bit about required reading for uni and the channel, so I picked up one of the texts I need to read for next week in my Children's Literature course. It was easy to fly through, being written in verse, and a breath of fresh air from some of the more intense books I've read recently.
How are you doing so far? Almost mid-way!

Bout of Books 11.0 Update | Day #2

August 20, 2014

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 2

Currently reading: 
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Books completed: 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Meyers

Pages read since last update: 130

Total pages read: 552

Thoughts/Notes: I had work all of today and some uni work to do afterwards, so I wasn't able to get a huge amount of reading done. It'll probably be the same tomorrow as well, but that's okay, I have the rest of the week to power through :D

Bout of Books 11.0 Update | Day #1

August 19, 2014

Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day # 1

Currently reading: 
-nothing eep-

Books completed: 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Meyers

Pages read since last update: 422

Total pages read: 422

Thoughts/Notes: Super happy with day one! I started and completed We Were Liars, and also read the last half of The Vanishing Game! I'd begun it in July and now it is finally complete, yay!

Shameless by Nina Lemay BLITZ & GIVEAWAY




Publication Date: August 18th 2014

Buy the Book: 
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Smashwords

~New Adult Contemporary Romance -- recommended for mature readers~
Girls like me don’t get happy endings.

I know what I am. At worst a cliché, at best a cautionary tale. I put an international border between me and my past, only to wind up working in a low-end titty bar. Even my excuse is as lame as it gets: I’m paying for college, getting my art degree from Montreal’s most prestigious school. Although some days it becomes confusing: am I just a student who moonlights as a stripper, or a stripper who masquerades as a student?

But the inevitable happens and my two lives collide. And now there’s one other person who knows both the quiet, antisocial Hannah and the sensual, shameless Alicia. One person who keeps my secret.

He’s beautiful, he’s sophisticated. He comes from the other side of life, the one where I’m not wanted or accepted. But he calls me la petite Américaine, and his hot, hot hands on my skin promise me things I long ago gave up on.

The problem? He teaches my Classic Photography class.

This is a standalone novel, no series, no cliffhanger.
Nina Lemay About the Author
Nina Lemay is a YA writer by day and author of sinfully twisted New Adult...well, also by day. She loves all things dark and edgy and never tires of tormenting her characters. While Nina is a fan of all things scary, Gothic, and fantastic, she doesn’t shy away from a gritty contemporary romance when the muse strikes. She lives in Montreal, a city that never fails to inspire, with her partner and her dog.

ninalemay.com | twitter.com/NinaLemay

Guest Post
================


Thank you so much for helping me launch SHAMELESS into the world. Being a writer, especially an indie debut author, is often lonely and occasionally scary. All the support I’ve had with SHAMELESS just blew me away. You guys are amazing!

SHAMELESS is set in Montreal. Why Montreal, you ask? Montreal was the perfect setting for many reasons.

First... well, I’ve never read a New Adult novel set in Montreal. Actually, I haven’t read that many novels set in Montreal at all. It’s always a big city in the US, New York or LA or Chicago, and when the story needs a touch of exoticism, New Orleans. So I said to myself, how is Montreal worse than New Orleans? At least here we actually speak French, you know?



Montreal is a Canadian city, kind of on the small side (give or take 2 million people) and yes, it speaks French. French is the only official language of the province of Quebec, but in the heart of Montreal you can usually get by in English too. Montreal is known for a kind of libertine attitude and what we call joie de vivre—you gotta, when it’s freezing nine months of the year. I took this picture in the middle of April, after I woke up to a surprise snowstorm (surprise!).



Good music (Montreal is home to the giant outdoor Jazz Festival and several others throughout the summer), good food (and I don’t just mean poutine) and good nightlife is what it’s known for. It also has a sort of European feel to it. This is from when I lived on the Plateau, aka the French-speaking hipster neighborhood par excellence:



Coffee shop on the Plateau:



In the downtown core, the area is more English and more touristy. And I didn’t exaggerate: there really are strip clubs all along Ste-Catherine, the main shopping street of downtown Montreal. Here’s one right above a teen clothing store!




Quebec City, where Hannah and Emmanuel go for the long weekend, is one of the oldest settlements in North America and the provincial capital. About three hours by car to the north of Montreal, Ville de Quebec has the look and feel of a majestic European city.



I went to university with many people who moved across the continent to go to school here, and I always admired (and was kind of envious of) the courage it takes. So when I wrote Hannah, a girl who’s desperate to escape her high school years no matter the cost, I thought, what better place to run away to than Montreal?



  

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