Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Waiting On Wednesday

One book that I am definitely anxiously waiting on is Early to Death, Early to Rise, Kim Harrison's second Madison Avery book after last year's Once Dead Twice Shy.

I loved the first book (and don't think I posted my review of it-so I'll attempt to get that done soon) and love that the next one's coming out so soon (and that it's a series!). I purposely haven't read anything about what this second book is supposed to be about so my wanting it is solely based on the awesomeness of the first book and Kim Harrison's writing and my enjoyment of the few of her Hollows books I've read.

So, anyhow this is her YA series and has to do with reapers and it comes out May 25, 2010 in hardcover from Harper.

(and the paperback of the first book comes out April 27th)

Buy the series from Amazon

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Contest Link (& a note on another)

I had hoped to have the review of this book before posting about this book, but some migraines have really slowed down my reading (and my computer time even more so)... but it's awesome so I'm definitely going to tell you anyway:

Lindsey Leavitt, author of Princess Protection Program Princess for Hire has a fantastic contest going to celebrate the release of PfH, her first book. The details of it are here on her Livejournal. It involves fun, word-spreading things you can do and it ends tomorrow on March 31.

(and I'm going to take the book with me over Easter and show it to my cousins, too because I think they'll like it)

and the Princess for Hire website



and for my little note bit: Elizabeth Scott had a contest a little bit ago for spreading the word about The Unwritten Rule and I thought Morgan's entry was pretty awesome even before it won so I thought I'd share a link to it with you. (and yay! I'm on another computer so I can actually look at other people's blogs again!! I need my computer to forget it's old.)

Monday, March 29, 2010

In My Mailbox Monday


In My Mailbox Monday for this week....


from a contest win: Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten
I love, love the cover of this book....and, for whatever reason, it makes me want to read Sleepless by Thomas Fahy even more.
Plus way too many library books for me to possibly get them and the books I bought last week all read in a timely manner ;)



(and on a contest related note: what do you all do when you win a book but never get it and can't even find out if it shipped?)

Saturday, March 27, 2010

My Contest

My Dark Divine Nail Polish Contest.... I'm going to keep it going until I get a certain number of entrants (that numbers in my head!) or if that takes too long, then until I get enough for all my winners (maybe till about June?)

So, basically: enter, enter, enter: DARK DIVINE POLISH CONTEST you can win a pretty, pretty bottle of nail polish that matches the toe polish on The Dark Divine book cover.

The Last Song ~ Nicholas Sparks review

The Last Song
Grand Central Publishing
March 1, 2010 (movie tie-in cover)
480 pages
Amazon

The Last Song soon (very soon, as in this Wednesday) to be a movie starring Miley Cyrus, is a book by Nicholas Sparks. The Last Song's Ronnie (Veronica) is angry with both of her parents-but especially her father--after their divorce three years before the start of the book. Because of this Ronnie not only hates her parents, but has quit playing the piano (her father's a former concert pianist and used to teach at Juliard) and isn't taking his calls.

So, of course, it doesn't go over too well when Ronnie's mother decides to send Ronnie and her brother from their home in New York City to the North Carolina coast to spend the summer with their father. And that's where the story takes place.


I'm going to start off by saying that I didn't care for this book so, if you want to, you can stop reading now, if not: This book really, really didn't work for me.

I never cared one way or the other about really any of the characters. It wasn't that I especially dislked them, I just didn't like them either...I was incredibly neutral about all of them I think.

Then there was almost too much plot going on. It seemed like there was the 'Ronnie's rebellious,' 'the fire,' 'the stained glass,' 'Will's family', and about fifteen other things. I don't have a problem with multiple plots when they all work together but in this case it seemed like they were trying to work together for one cohesive story, but it never quite happened.

And let's not forget the turtles. While they were an interesting part of the story (and I've seen them on the beach going to lay eggs and it is amazing), it was one of too many parts to really be great.

On the subject of characters, Ronnie was supposed to be the angry, rebellious, I-have-purple-in-my-hair daughter but I think I had such a hard time really believing that, partially because of how things were written, but also because it was Miley Cyrus in my head (and she chose the name Ronnie and the screenplay came before the book so I can't say that's just the movie.

I am curious as to why this movie's coming out so soon after Dear John, though. The Last Song is set in the summer and would possibly be one of those good movies to see when you're at the beach and feel like seeing something really light. So, I would have thought they'd release it in the summer or at least close to the summer...


As you can tell, the book was not good for me, but it was apparently really good for a lot of people because it has an average 4 1/2 out of 5 rating at Amazon. See the movie, read the book, do neither, do both....Maybe it will work better for you. It did for Smitten With Books

3/10



(and I'm going to post reviews of books I don't like because when choosing what books to buy-or sometimes even library ones-I always check out reviews where the reader didn't like the book, too, to find out why. They're a decision making tool for me and they might be for someone else, also.)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Waiting On Wednesday

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard (Prada & Prejudice) out August 5, 2010.
You Wish is one of those books that was squee enducing from a) the moment I saw the cover but also b) the moment I read the summary... Cupcakes and ponies and pink?! And:
Kayla McHenry’s sweet sixteenth sucks! Her dad left, her grades dropped, and her BFF is dating the boy Kayla’s secretly loved for years. Blowing out her candles, Kayla thinks: I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin’ do.

Kayla wakes the next day to a life-sized, bright pink My Little Pony outside her window. Then a year’s supply of gumballs arrives. And a boy named Ken with a disturbing resemblance to the doll of same name stalks her. As the ghosts of Kayla’s wishes-past appear, they take her on a wild ride… but they MUST STOP. Because when she was 15? She wished Ben Mackenzie would kiss her.

And Ben is her best friend’s boyfriend.
Really? How can you not be in love with that?

It's one of those books that I'm showing people the Goodreads page or the Amazon page (or the something-with-it page) and saying 'Doesn't that have the absolute potential to be perfect for me?' because (I'm a dork and do things like that and, more importantly) it does!!

Because while I do love my super serious, heavy books, I also can't wait to read a book about life-sized My Little Ponys and birthday wishes come true.


Goodreads page & Amazon page

Monday, March 22, 2010

In My Mailbox Monday

First bit of news: my contest didn't end yesterday (we were celebrating a birthday so I forgot to make the post), it's extended--I'm looking at for how long :)


and then it's In My Mailbox Monday time and these are all books I ordered this time:














Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott, & Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (and I knew, knew that if I bought Body Finder and Hex Hall that my library would then buy one of the two--they have a thing about buying books the day I either buy them or get them in the mail after not when I'm deciding which to buy.....and so the library bought Hex Hall the day the box came in the mail and Body Finder as of today ;) But I'm still happy I have them.


Can't wait to read these books, though!! And I have some on hold from the library but they're not in yet so that'll be next week maybe...

That's what I got, did you get anything?

Friday, March 19, 2010

Gothic Lolita: A Mystical Thriller ~ Dakota Lane review

Gothic Lolita: A Mystical Thriller
Ginee Seo Books
November 25, 2008
208 pages
Amazon


Chelsea and Miya, who live in Los Angeles and Tokyo, respectively are best friends of a sort. They only know each other through an online journaling site and Chelsea hasn't posted anything in three years. But between when they're friendship started at age 11 and Chelsea's disappearance, the two girls had things in common: a love of the Gothic Lolita fashion, gothiclolita009, a shojo manga character, and both are half Japanese.

Miya has continued to blog and Chelsea might not make herself known, but she's still paying attention.

Now, Miya and her three year old brother are living in an orphanage, placed there after her mother's death by their father (who dies as the book starts) and just hoping no one will decide to take her cute little brother and leave teenaged her behind. And Chelsea is still living in LA but still dealing with the disappearance of her younger brother that happened three years before.

Now to see if the two girls can make their way back together and how.


Gothic Lolita, which I still haven't quite figured out being called a 'mystical thriller,' is written and presented in an interesting and unique way. Told in alternating points of view (Chelsea and Miya) that don't contain capitalization and are usually short and I suppose, blog like and sometimes more like poems than prose, the writing is interspersed-and sometimes actually on-photographs. Some of the photos are of the girls/their lives but others just seem to somehow relate to the story.

I will have to say that I pretty quickly figured out what the ending of this was going to be, I hoped that there was going to be some sort of a twist, but there wasn't. It was a very quick read, though (less than a couple of hours I think, even really looking at the photos), so that wasn't as much of a problem as it would have been in a book that took an average amount of time to read.

I would have liked more from this book, but that's not how the book was done. It wasn't an in-depth, long prose type of novel, it was done in a different style.

At some points it seemed like the girls had too much in common which worked for the book but also made me wish for more about the two of them than what they shared. In some ways that's a good point of the book (that I wanted more) and a bad point. I did really like that neither girl had a cookie cutter life, however. It made things interesting and was very creative of the author.

So, while I think this book wasn't amazing and the ending is very predictable, it's also a really fast read that's unique and filled with some photographs, too so it's still worth a read--maybe a library read since the hardcover's $16.99 ($14.03 atm on Amazon)?

7/10 mostly for the ending/predictableness

Video Veneris

Oops, I totally thought I'd posted this weeks and weeks ago...

Either way, here is my Video Veneris trailer for Pretty Bad Things by CJ Skuse, it's out in England now, but not so far in the US



I'm including the Amazon little buy thingy because it at least has the summary and info and ability to buy used copies:

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday

I have no idea why I completely forgot today was Wednesday!! but I did!!!!

But a book I definitely want to feature today is one I've been interested in since before last year's Romantic Time's Book Fair when I saw the author's name on something with that and then looked up her blog. And now that her fantabulous sounding book has a cover (for almost a week now I think), I'm thrilled to tell everyone about this book by one of the Tenners....



The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser/outcast type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.

Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?

Amazon pre-order link (It's out July 6) and here's Stacey Kade's site with that blog I mentioned :D. And know that if you get this book I just might have to be super, super, super jealous of you :P

Hope you enjoyed your St Patrick's Day--and if you're in Chicago--maybe even saw the green River

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Split ~ Stefan Petrucha review

Split
Walker Books for Young Readers
272 Pages
March 16, 2010
Amazon


Split by Stefan Petrucha is just one of the many great (or what seem to be great) books coming out today and the one I've been lucky enough to read already. Split is described as 'Sliding Doors meets Fight Club' and the description seems incredibly apt. Main character Wade Jackson feels torn between his love of guitar playing and writing music and his need to be the perfect student.

It all comes to a head when his mother dies (at the start of the book) and he's forced to choose between the two paths, to truly commit himself to one endeavor or the other and whatever path that will inevitably take him on.

But that's where things get interesting in Split. Wade doesn't just turn into the model student or become the on-the-edge rocker....he becomes both. Through a split in consciousness, told in alternating chapters (and alternating worlds really), Split follows the two Wades--each who makes the decisions they feel is the right one--as one becomes the strive-for-the-best student and one lives on the fringe, gambling, dealing with people on the edge of society and working towards being a dive-bar singer. All leading towards when their live(s) just might collide again.


I have to start by saying that I have never read a book like Split. There are a lot of books that alternate chapters and even try parallel worlds or universes or similar things but I don't think I've heard of a book that's actually split the character into, well, two like this one did.

I enjoyed that the two characters (two Wades) were so different but it was obvious that they had both started at the same place, too. They weren't so, so different that it was unbelievable that they'd just made different choices but not similar enough that you couldn't understand how simple choice could change your life. I do think it would have been interesting, though, to have each of them remember more of their past to see how differently they would have seen things-if that would have been possible.

I think that the book will be more appealing to a different audience, however, because the book didn't focus just on the characters but on a rather interesting plot involving particle accelerators in one Wade's world and loan sharks and very, very not upstanding citizens in the other Wade's, both of whom were bringing impending doom to the Wades. Things were definitely interesting and new enough that it kept me guessing at just how all of this was going to come together and how on Earth it all went together.

Using the particle accelerator that could possibly end the world as the center piece for a book about a teen that splits his conscious self in two sounds pretty odd, but it actually works pretty well. And this is one of those YA books that should work for boys as well as (if not better than) girls so points there, too (& it's made me interested in The Rule of Won which I actually wasn't really before).

7/10

thank you very much to the publishers for this book :)

Friday, March 12, 2010

Perfect Chemistry ~ Simone Elkeles review

Perfect Chemistry
December 23, 2008
Walker Books for Young Readers
368 Pages
Amazon

Perfect Chemistry is set in a Chicago area high school that brings together two very different groups of teenagers: the richy rich white kids with their houses on the beach and the Latino Blood gang members from a different neighborhood. The two groups rarely mix (and then not without scaring each other) but that's about to change when Alex and golden-girl Brittany are made lab partners thanks to their teachers forced seating chart.

It's the worst thing either of them can imagine at first (Alex just knows Brittany is all fluff and no substance and Brittany is sure Alex is going to stab her or shoot her at any moment), but things soon change.

Alex is more than just a gang member, more than just the oldest brother trying to do right for his siblings and more than just a really smart guy who can't quite stay out of trouble....And Brittany is more than the popular girl who has an older sister with cerebral palsy and expectations on her from everywhere. Because of all of that (and a certain bet)--and their insane chemistry, Alex and Brittany make this more than the typical bad boy meets good girl story.

Perfect Chemistry was told in alternating points-of-view, one chapter was told by Alex and then one by Brittany and so on so you got each of their sides of everything. And Alex's dialogue and chapters included Spanish which only made things feel more real.

Both characters having so much depth to them, from Alex's gang activity (and it not being downplayed, passed over or made to be really nice and light) or the storyline involving Brittany's sister really made Brittany and Alex more like people you cared about than book characters you were reading about.

I can't say enough about how much I loved this book.

Out of all of the books I've read in probably the last few years, this is probably the only one where I've really missed the characters once the book was over. There have been other books where I was truly sorry the book was over and books I've loved, but this is the only one where I can remember missing the characters like I did.

So, read this book-for serious.

so a 10/10 but a super huge bold faced 10

*and to think part of the reason I read this in the first place was because it was set nearish where I used to live. It's always fun to read about characters going somewhere and having been there, too (like Gilson)

And don't forget to enter my contest for Dark Divine nail polish

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Black Tuesday ~ Susan Colebank review

Black Tuesday
Dutton Juvenile
June 14, 2007
208 pages
Amazon


Jayne Thompkins is the perfect, overachiever older sister while her little sister Ellie is the one who forgets her homework and gets caught fooling around with boys on her bed. Jayne is the one who's the star tennis player, the one is neck and neck for highest GPA (she checks routinely and knows how each test grade will affect things). Jayne has goals of attending Harvard. Jayne has everything figured out.

Except for what she's supposed to do now.

It was just a day like any other until accident. Jayne is rushing, not paying full attention and her car slams into another. Soon a girl is in danger of dying and Jayne is at fault. Her whole life changes in an instant.

Perfect Jayne isn't so perfect anymore.


The idea of this book (you can check Amazon for a lot more spoilers and such--after I started reading it I realised that the summary involves a lot that doesn't happen until well, well into the book, so I left some out) really did intrigue me. But then it was just sort of...okay for me when I read it. (And hard to remember as well, apparently.)

I never really cared for Jayne--I understood that she had pressure from herself and her mother about school and was trying to help her sister and I got her development though the book, but it just didn't really work for me. So much of the story is supposed to be Jayne reacting to and dealing with the consequences of those few seconds in the car but I never really felt that it was realistic. Or it was too focused on her. I understand that because she's the narrator/main character it needs to be, but...

I don't know, this book just didn't work for me-the characters, the plot's progression, it just wasn't a book for me. (Though it worked for the other Amazon reviewers!) And I'd still like to give Susan Colebank's new book a try because I really do love the premises she comes up with.


5/10

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Waiting On Wednesday

Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols (Amazon link @ bottom)

I still have to post my review of Major Crush, but after my reviews of Going Too Far and The Ex Games, I don't think it should come as a surprise that I'm a major fan of Jennifer Echols...so imagine how thrilled I am that she has two books coming out this summer!

The first one is my selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday: Endless Summer is the sequel to The Boys Next Door and is also going to include The Boys Next Door :D You get two books for one, how snazzy is that?!

And it's part of Simon Pulse's Romantic Comedies Line but it's getting a new type of cover (as opposed to all of the illustrated/animated type covers the other RomCom books have had).

Pair all of that with Jennifer Echols' awesomeness, the earlier release date (it was due later in the summer), what I'm sure is an awesome summary--I haven't read The Boys Next Door and now I'm waiting to read it with this one so I'm not reading the summary--and how can you refuse?

The Boys Next Door's summary:

Lori lives for summertime at her family's lake house. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties in the cabin next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard...

and Endless Summer's summary:

Lori should have known better than to date a pirate.

After finally getting together and going out on their first real date, only Lori and Adam could manage to fall asleep—and wake up seven hours past Lori’s curfew. Their parents forbid them to see each other. So Lori takes it upon herself to date boys scarier than Adam until her dad gives in.

But Adam won’t play along. He’s afraid Lori might fall for these scary boys. And when she goes out with the scariest boy of all—Adam’s own brother and her ex-crush—even the threat of being sent away to military school can’t keep Adam from swashbuckling his way back into Lori’s heart.
Can this forbidden love stay afloat, or will it sink in the watery deep?



and click here to buy at Amazon (well pre-order but how amazing would it be to buy it now and then May 25ish get a book in the mail?) it's 608 pages, two books really but only $9.99

Shadowed Summer ~ Saundra Mitchell review

Shadowed Summer
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
183 Pages
February 10, 2009
(Paperback's out in June, though)
Amazon


Trying to find any way possible to escape (or at least partially ignore) the unbearable heat and humidity of Odine, Louisiana in the summer, Iris and her best friend try summoning a ghost in the local cemetery.

The last thing they expect is for it to actually work; a voice whispers, "Where, y'at, Iris?" in her ear.

It's up to Iris to solve the boy's decades old disappearance and murder...looks like her sleepy old town just got interesting.


To start with, I love that this is a book with ghosts and Ouija boards and old, small town cemeteries because those are the kind of supernatural/paranormal books you can read no matter what the current 'fad' or 'trend' is or how you feel about Twilight because ghost stories are forever (as are Ouija boards) and I also love old creepy cemeteries--I lived by one with people from the War of 1812 that we hung out in when I was little ;)

Given that Shadowed Summer was set in Louisiana and presently, I also appreciated that Hurricane Katrina was mentioned and a part of the story.

I also really loved that it incorporated the teenage girls having fun with spells and contacting ghosts and goofing around in the cemeteries, the supernatural of the ghost, and also the mystery side of things with the research and investigation that was done. This wasn't a full out supernatural story with everything happening with the ghost and Iris or a full out mystery, either.

I suppose you could compare it to Ghost Whisperer in that way because she talks to the ghosts but also gets info from the internet, the hospital, by talking to people, etc.

And the relationships between the different teens and family members in the book were also very realistic and enjoyable.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Shutter Island ~ Dennis Lehane review

Shutter Island
Harper
August 25, 2009
400 Pages
Amazon

I missed at first that Shutter Island was based on a book, but it is, one by Dennis Lehane, the author of Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone among others.

On Shutter Island, off Massachusetts coast, Ashcliffe Hospital, a converted army base is now a hospital for the insane. The criminally insane--an important part not to forget. And now, impossibly, one of the patients (or prisoners, depending upon whom you're talking to) has escaped. US Marshals Teddy Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule are called in to investigate and find the missing woman.

But Shutter Island and Ashcliffe Hospital are not all that they appear to be and Teddy and Chuck must work to uncover the mystery quickly--all in the midst of a hurricane. And more of course but what fun would it be if I told you everything? If you've seen the movie previews I'm sure you can see that it's worth seeing and therefore VERY worth reading first.

This is a fantastic, amazingly suspenseful tale of not only what psychiatry was like in 1954, but also what society was like then. The characters have a great deal of depth to them and they're all very well thought out and work well with each other (and against each other when it's called for) and just as soon as you think you know it all, there's more (be it plot or character wise).

If you haven't already seen the movie, I would definitely recommend reading this book first because it gives you so much more insight into the characters thoughts and actions and just who they all are than just seeing the movie would. And if you've seen the film already, I would still recommend reading book both because it's a great book that I would never regret reading even if there weren't a movie but I think it would still allow you to see more about the characters and events of the movie.

So if you've seen the movie, plan to see it, or even if you don't want to, I definitely think you should read Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island.

NB: In regards to it being 'adult' and not 'young adult,' there's adult language in the book but also some scenes with dreams, nudity, language and sex that are really not YA. I haven't seen the movie yet so I don't know if they're in the movie at all bu I can't imagine they could be. That's not much of it though, I think most if just for language, some violence and the fact that it is set at a hospital for the criminally insane and the basic plot.

10/10.

Monday, March 8, 2010

In My Mailbox Monday

I didn't get any books for reiew this week, but I did buy Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll & illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia


and here's a little buy it from Amazon thing :)
(the Amazon price is $11.55)

Dear John ~ Nicholas Sparks review

Dear John
Grand Central Publishing
352 Pages
December 1, 2009
Amazon


I actually lost the library copy of this book (or you know, accidentally left it when I got my hair cut and it wasn't there when I went back to get it) so that sort of messed up my reviewing it when the movie came out...but the movie is still out :)

In Dear John, Nicholas Sparks doesn't stray from the formula that's worked for him in previous books like the notebook. This, too, is a summery romance set in North Caroline between two teens/young adults that (to me) borders on Christian fiction. This time around the male character is John who's had a slightly tough time with his teen years and is now in the army; home on leave he meets Savannah who is visiting the beach town John calls home with church friends.

A close connection is immediate and a relationship begins in the handful of days they have before John has to return overseas. They're determined to keep the relationship going and write letters to each other until John's next leave and discharge. But this book starts in the late 90s with John in places like Kosovo, so we know it won't be all sunshine and roses by the time he meets Savannah and goes back to his Army duties.


I read Dear John knowing that I might not like it (I have a less than A+ history with Nicholas Sparks books) but knowing that I love Amanda Seyfried (!!!!) and Channing Tatum both so I would probably want to see the movie anyway. And I always want to read the book before I see the movie. I won't say that this was something where I had to, had to read the book first like Where the Heart Is* or Blood and Chocolate (I actually loved both books and both movies but would never have chosen to see the movie first).

Dear John is a good enough book but I would almost just recommend seeing the movie (and I haven't seen it yet--hopefully tomorrow!). But I also know someone else who's read the book and didn't love it either but plans to see the movie, anyway. I think the characters were alright but the kind that work better for a two hour movie than the kind that you really get into reading a book. Does that make sense? Usually you can connect more with book characters than movie characters, but I didn't feel that with this book.

And I also felt that this book was trying too much to be interesting and loving and caring but it didn't work for me...again, I'd like to see this movie, but I didn't love the book. It's hard to explain too much, but it was really just a so-so book.

7/10



*In checking the title of the Where the Heart Is movie (I keep wanting to call it Anywhere But Here), I found out Natalie Portman's in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Elizabeth Bennet :D

Friday, March 5, 2010

Contest Deadline Extended! & Video Veneris

CONTEST EXTENDED

The deadline for my Dark Divine Nail Polish has been extended to 12:01 am on March 21st... There are still two more winners to be had so enter, enter, ENTER!!!




And I saw this book the other day so I thought I'd share it's trailer today- Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (he's also the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)


Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Missing Ink ~ Karen E Olson review

The Missing Ink (Tattoo Shop Mysteries #1)
July 7, 2009
Signet
320 Pages
Amazon


Karen E Olson starts a new series with The Missing Ink. It's tale of Las Vegas tattoo artist Brett Kavanaugh who gets herself tangled up in a murder mystery. After Brett makes an appointment with a girl for a devotion tattoo (she wants a tattoo of her fiance's name and a heart) only to have the girl never show up and then go missing, the police start questioning Brett. And her brother's a detective so that makes things sometimes easier and sometimes trickier.

Using Brett's tattoo artist expertise, some...interesting minor characters, a super, super fancy hotel and it's high class manager Simon, a mystery full of twists and turns--and lots of tattoos on the Las Vegas strip, this is not quite your average mystery.

The Tattoo Shop Mysteries first book The Missing Ink is really a fun, cute, original, engaging mystery. While it wasn't predictable or like most other books (and not only because of the characters and setting)--and maybe at least partially of that---I really enjoyed it. At times it was the itsiest bit hard to follow , but only if you read very quickly and don't actually pay attention.

As long as you follow what's what and, more importantly, who's who, it should all be good.

I love that Brett is spunky and daring but not just tough and uncaring. She's a really well developed character and while she's not a girly girl, she's also not on the other end of the spectrum, either. She's real. And I loved her friends, too.

I'm really happy this is a series because I honestly can't wait to read more of this series, I read the first book from the library but I might have to buy the second one--I don't know if I can wait!

The second book, Pretty In Ink was released March 2, 2010 (when this review was meant to go up!)

9/10


(I haven't read her other series so I can't say anything about how they compare.)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Waiting On Wednesday

I couldn't decide which book to do today so I'm doing two:

The Unwritten Rule
by Elizabeth Scott and













ghostgirl: Lovesick
by Tonya Hurley (3rd Ghostgirl book)













It should be said that I want both of these without being completely sure what either of them is about but I know what type of books Elizabeth Scott writes and how well she writes them and that's enough for me to want Unwritten Rule....and I loved the first two Ghostgirl books, so... (and the second one more than the first.)

And sometimes I really love reading a book without having a clue as to what it's about so long as I either know someone who has the same taste in books as me loved the book or I love the author (and/or series) :D

But if you're someone that likes knowing summaries, here's one for each book:
Unwritten Rule: Everyone knows the unwritten rule: You don't like your best friend's boyfriend.

Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend.

Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she's thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It's wonderful...and awful.

Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't stop herself from wanting more... (from Goodreads) out March 16

Ghostgirl: Lovesick: Before she can rest in peace, Charlotte Usher must return to the tragic site of her death: high school. Once there, her assignment is to help a designated teen solve a personal problem in time for the allimportant prom. But no one explained what happens if you fall in love with your class project. Charlotte would die (again) for love but facing the all-too-familiar feeling of invisibility may be too much for her to swallow. (from Goodreads) out July 12

and don't forget to enter my contest

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

ooops!

If you have Google Reader, please ignore my last post until tomorrow when it will be actually posted? I forgot to change the post date and so it's going to show up on everyone's Google Readers tonight (even though I deleted it/changed its post time)....and tomorrow morning ;)

Sorry!

Monday, March 1, 2010

In My Mailbox Monday

This week I received one book for review:



Everlasting by Angie Frazier !!! release date June 1, 2010
Amazon and here's my WOW post with some more about it


and it's disappointing that no one's entering the contest I'm hosting to win bottles of the Dark Divine nail polish inspired by the color on the cover of the book: ENTER HERE

Book Trailer Friday [@RandomHouse @TransworldBooks]

Beth Dorey-Stein's From the Corner of the Oval  - a tale of being the White House stenographer during the Obama administration will be ...