Book Blitz + Giveaway: Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner

 

Ice Massacre

by Tiana Warner
Publication date: September 18th 2014
YA, fantasy

 

A mermaid’s supernatural beauty serves one purpose: to lure a sailor to his death.

The Massacre is supposed to bring peace to Eriana Kwai. Every year, the island sends its warriors to battle these hostile sea demons. Every year, the warriors fail to return. Desperate for survival, the island must decide on a new strategy. Now, the fate of Eriana Kwai lies in the hands of twenty battle-trained girls and their resistance to a mermaid’s allure.

Eighteen-year-old Meela has already lost her brother to the Massacre, and she has lived with a secret that’s haunted her since childhood. For any hope of survival, she must overcome the demons of her past and become a ruthless mermaid killer.

For the first time, Eriana Kwai’s Massacre warriors are female, and Meela must fight for her people’s freedom on the Pacific Ocean’s deadliest battleground.

Ice Massacre on Goodreads.

 

Purchase!

FREE during the blitz!

Amazon

 

 

Author bio

 

Tiana Warner was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. She enjoys riding her horse, Bailey, and collecting tea cups.

 

Website

Twitter

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Author interview

Give us the tweet-sized version of what Ice Massacre is about.

A teenage girl is sent to battle the hostile mermaids that are driving her people into poverty. A story of love, secrets, and ass-kicking.

What makes Ice Massacre unique?

First, I haven’t seen a lot out there that portrays mermaids for what they really are: flesh-eating sea demons. But I think what also sets it apart is its almost entirely female cast. This island decides to send female warriors to kill the mermaids that plague them, because women don’t fall victim to a mermaid’s supernatural allure. We end up with an all-female war on a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Meela, an aboriginal girl who’s never been away from the tiny island she calls home, also has a pretty unique journey of self-discovery. I don’t want to reveal too much. But I think a lot of aspects make this story unconventional.

What’s your favourite thing about the book?

I love Meela’s antagonists. Meela’s a tough chick and she has a lot coming at her from all directions. Writing those opposing forces was so much fun.

What’s next for you as a writer?

The sequel! This is the first in a trilogy, and I’m hard at work on book two: Ice Crypt.

Giveaway!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacking the Shelves (18)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 

Purchased
 

 

Älä koskaan pyyhi kyyneleitä paljain käsin by Jonas Gardell (Finnish)

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Switched by Amanda Hocking

 

I'm putting myself on a book buying ban. I've ordered and purchased way too many books and as a student who have no time to work alongside studies, I'm not that wealthy. So there probably won't be that many STS on future. Altough one order is on the way, should arrive sometime during next week, so. And there's always possibility that I'll get review copies. However, I try to stick on my book buying ban at least a couple of months, maybe all the way to Christmas. Let's see how long I'll last!

Cover Reveal: Four of a Kind by Kellie Sheridan

Four of a Kind
by Kellie Sheridan
Publication date: November 4th 2014
YA, contemporary

The odds of giving birth to identical quadruplets: 1 in 13 million.

 

The population of Fairview, a town so small that all anyone talks about is the Fairview Four returning after fourteen years: 7208.

 

The chance of Reagan blending in with the crowd after a boy in her new town starts to see her for who she really is: zero.

 

Following in the footsteps—and all too often, the shadows—of her sisters was nothing new to Reagan. But after fifteen years of fading in to the background, she’s finally finding her own way. Amidst all the gossip and assumptions, one person sees Reagan for what she’s always wanted to be. One of a kind.

 

Finally feeling like she belongs, Reagan wants to enjoy every possibility her new life has to offer, but things aren’t going as smoothly for her sisters. How can Reagan possibly let herself be happy—or maybe even fall in love—when her family is finally turning to her for support?

Four of a Kind on Goodreads.

 

And now, the beautiful cover!

 

 

Author bio

I have been in love with stories in all of their forms for as long as I can remember.

 

Admittedly, sometimes that means falling into places like Stars Hollow and Sunnydale, but books have always been my true love. In early 2011 I began writing a book blog in order to share my favorite reads with book lovers. From there, the bookish community encouraged me to stop sitting on my own stories and share them instead. Since then I’ve been madly devouring everything I can about digital publishing.

For the past two years I have been mainly obsessed with young adult books, but my favorite stories still come from the adult fantasy genre. As far as I’m concerned, Briggs, Bishop, Vincent and Vaughn are all must reads.

I spent part of my twenties living in Galway, Ireland and swooning after various lilting accents but am now back home in Ontario, Canada. My family includes two Glen of Imaal Terriers and a Green Cheek Conure.

 

Website

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Review: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
Published by Scribner
Paperback (purchased)
Adult, LGBT, romance, contemporary, western, classic

Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together when they're working as sheepherder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line. At first, sharing an isolated tent, the attraction is casual, inevitable, but something deeper catches them that summer.

Both men work hard, marry, and have kids because that's what cowboys do. But over the course of many years and frequent separations this relationship becomes the most important thing in their lives, and they do anything they can to preserve it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many has seen the movie, I included. It's my favourite and even though I don't cry much during books and movies, Brokeback Mountain gets me every time. The original novella the movie was based is 55 pages. Short? Definitely. Still emotional, stunning story that tell everything about Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist? Without any doubts.

 

Ennis and Jack live in a world, 1963 when they meet all the way over 1983 that was the last time they met. They fell in love but couldn't - wouldn't allow themselves - to call it love even though it consumed them and they kept coming back to each other's arms. It started with one fateful summer in Brokeback Mountain and it lasted a lifetime.

 

There's so many love stories, of forbidden love and how there was time - still is - that not all kind of love is pure in the eyes of society. Brokeback Mountain is all about that but it goes so much deeper and strikes reader's heart because it feels so real. Ennis and Jack, they both have their flaws and they try to do what it expected from them but they can't deny what they feel for each other. The story is so emotional, heart-cripping and captivating, partly because it refuses to feel any shame. It's real, as real as story can get. It's short, yes, but sometimes you don't need lots of fancy words to tell a tale of two person who loved each other for one lifetime. Proulx is a strong voiced author and the language was just perfect to create an air for cowboys. Without a doubt, Proulx is talented writer and she did good with this one.

 

Brokeback Mountain is short but it's perfect the way it is. Worthy of everything the world has to give to it.

 

5 of 5 stars and everything else I can give.

 

Brokeback Mountain on Goodreads.



Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall To-Be-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!

I did this last summer, too, and it didn't went as planned (I read plenty of books but maybe four from the list I made) so this is more like what I want to read from my TBR this autumn. It's prone to fail because I have so many exams coming and well, I am known of putting review copies before everything else. But I try at least read five out of ten books from this list!

 

In no particular order:

 

1. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks: I loved the movie and I finally purchased the book - it arrived today! The cover looks like autumn so it's perfect for fall read. I definitely try to read this as soon as possible!

 

2. Älä koskaan pyyhi kyyneleitä paljain käsin: rakkaus by Jonas Gardell: Yeah, it's in Finnish. Originally Swedish but translated. There's no translation to English yet but I hope there to be - the TV show from this trilogy was stunning. It's about young boy, Rasmus, from smalltown who moved to Stockholm 1982. He's gay and Stockholm is place to be, back then. Rasmus meets Benjamin and they fall in love. However, HIV and AIDS are both new and spreading among gay community and there's little to no help for them. This trilogy is tells Rasmus', Benjamin's and their friends story - based on the author's own experience. So yes, I'm excited to finally read this. I'm going to need lots of Kleenex. And get part two and three. (The name is freely translated to English: Never Wipe Tears With Bare Hands: Love)

 

3. I Am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff: I'm so excited about this, have been since I heard about it. However, I haven't had time to read it yet but I'm hoping to pick it up soon. Because assassins. Nothing beats assassins.

 

4. Speak by Lauren Andersson: Borrowed from library and I must read this one. It sounds like I'll need lots of Kleenex and it's quite short (something around 200 pages) so it's perfect weekend read.

 

5. Guardian by Alex London: I know, I've started Guardian already. But it's not nearly as good as Proxy and I have difficulties to read it further. I want to, nevertheless, so I'm trying to finish it. It's just so huge dissapointment after Proxy. So much wasted potential.

 

6. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green: Friend said I need to read it and yeah, it's time. But somehow I have difficulties to picking it up so it's sitting on my self and I'm skipping it every single time I pick what to read next. But I need to read it. Someday.

 

7. Suicide Watch by Kelley York: Why my fall TBR is full of sad stories that I'll probably read crying my eyes out? No idea. But I ordered Suicide Watch from Amazon (because I need to have all York's books on paperback if possible) and when it arrives I definitely want to read it.

 

8. The Statistical Propability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith: This is going to be my happy read among all these I-am-going-to-make-you-cry books. And my sister said it was good so yes, I'm excited about it.

 

9. Earth Star by Janet Edwards: I need to pick this up and marathon the third book, Earth Flight, after it. It's time I do it because well, Earth Girl is one of my favourites and I still don't know why I just won't read this one (okay I know: I'm afraid it's not going to be as good as Earth Girl. It happens with trilogies to me often - I love the first book but the sequel is dissapointment.)

 

10. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks: It's going to be on my TBR's until I've read it. Mermaids, I need more of them on my life so yeah. It's reason enough on my books.

 

What books are on your autumn TBR?

Review: Marco's Story by Page Morgan

Marco's Story (The Dispossessed, #1.5)
by Page Morgan
Published by Delacorte Press
Ebook (purchased)
YA, novella, paranormal, historical fiction


For readers of Lauren Kate's Fallen series comes a digital original short story set in the world of The Beautiful and the Cursed that follows Ingrid and Gabby Waverly and the terrifying forces determined to take their lives. Read it before the sequel, The Lovely and the Lost, is available in 2014 from Delacorte Press.

The blurb pretty much tells nothing: what is this about? Name tells more, so it's Marco's story. Marco is a gargoyle and introduced on Morgan's The Beautiful and the Cursed. There's no time given but I'm guessing it's set just before Waverly's came back to Paris as we learn why Marco's charges aren't in their Paris home currently. In The Beautiful and the Cursed Marco is a supporting character, not much is told about him and sadly, the novella doesn't give much new information. It gives insight of Marco's thoughts and motivations but does not reveal more about his past, and it also tells a very short story of Marco's charges and what Marco really thinks about humans.

 

I liked Marco during The Beautiful and the Cursed and I did really like the little insight Morgan gave in Marco's Story but sadly it was only around 35 pages long and because of that it lacked depth. I wanted to learn more about Marco but apparently I need to wait for the sequel to get that. Lovely little story, there's no doubt about that but it was illegally short. That's why I can't give it five stars even though there was nothing wrong in it.

 

I highly recommend Marco's Story for everyone who has read and loved The Beautiful and the Cursed.

 

4 of 5 stars.

 

Marco's Story on Goodreads.

Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed, #1)
by Page Morgan
Published by Hot Key Books
Paperback (borrowed from library)
YA, paranormal, romance, historical fiction

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.

Writing this review has taken way too long but not because the book was bad - on the opposite, it was brilliant. The world-building was luminous even though the feeling it created was darker and Morgan is so talented author: I felt like I was walking misty Parisian streets while gargoyles watched over me. And the historical aspect, oh my how long I've waited for story like this! Morgan truly is talented, so brilliant and stunning that I'll definitely read everything she writes now on. The Beautiful and the Cursed was everything I hoped for it to be: great historical fiction, gothic feeling, brilliant characters and fast paced story. I got it all and loved every minute I spend with this book.

Characters are important part of the story. The Beautiful and the Cursed had wonderful cast different kind of characters and  they all were lovable or likable and that has pretty much never happened with me during stories. There's always couple of characters that irks me wrong way but not this time. Ingrid, Luc, Vander and Marco were definitely my favourites! Ingrid was solid main character, strong and stubborn but not overly so. Luc was mysterious and it's hard to know the meaning behind his words and actions while Vander was more clear on that matter but also such lovable characters (and he works in a bookstore, what could be better?). Marco was a little bit more mystery but promising altogether and I can't wait to find more about him! Gabriela, other main character and Ingrid's sister was good, strong character though sometimes she was too stubborn and that caused some problems. Nolan was good character, too, intriguing and I really liked him. And Grayson. I liked him, too, and I'm anxiously waiting what will happen to him on the sequel.

The Beautiful and the Cursed was brilliant, as simply as that. Even the possible love triangles didn't feel consuming everything else because there was solid plot, action and such a great characters. And gargoyles. Do I need to say more? Brilliant, stunning and definitely worth a read. Now all I need is the sequel.

 

5 of 5 stars.

 

The Beautiful and the Cursed on Goodreads.

Stacking the Shelves (17)

 

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 

Purchased

 

 

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice

Close Range by Annie Proulx

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set by Rick Riordan

 

I should go book buying ban, seriously. Although, The Eye of Minds was free for me (I'm so excited to finally have it!) and The Vampire Armand and Close Range were from used books store so they cost like four euros, so. I'm excited to actually read the novella behind The Brokeback Mountain and there's also handful of other stories that sounded intriguing.

 

I have Percy Jackson books in Finnish but I've wanted to have them in English, too, but I haven't found covers I'd like to have. I didn't want the same ones Finnish books have and I'm not fan of those middle grade covers either. However, I found these gorgeous ones and the boxed set was ridicilous cheap (if you count price per book, these beauties would have cost somewhere around four euros).

 

What did you get this week?

Feature & Follow Friday #11

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by two different hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! This meme is here for bloggers to gain new blogger friends and followers.

 

This weeks topic:

 

Blogger pet peeves?

 

I actually don't have that many blogger pet peeves (versus the bookish pet peeves, oh boy, there's so many of them). But I do want my posts match - like WoW, FF, TTT and I even have a particular format for reviews and such. I'm control freak in that matter, I just need to have everything matching.

 

Also, scheduling posts. Not for me, I just seems that I can't get it working and I kind of gave up. I really should try again sometime.

 

 

 

Or you can add me on Google+.

 

I will always follow back!

Book Blitz + Giveaway: A Vault of Sins by Sarah Harian

A Vault of Sins (Chaos Theory, #2) 

by Sarah Harian
Publication date: September 16th 2014
NA, dystopia
 

In her stunning New Adult debut, The Wicked We Have Done, Sarah Harian introduced readers to the Compass Room: a twisted experimental jail where the guilty and the innocent suffer alike. But breaking out was only the beginning…

Even though she’s escaped, twenty-two-year-old Evalyn Ibarra is anything but free. She’s desperate to return to a life that no longer exists, but prying reporters continually draw her back into nightmarish memories, using the tabloids to vilify her. Bad press is the last thing she needs during the trial of the year: the case that she and her fellow survivors staked against the Compass Room engineers. A case that could terminate the use of the inhumane system forever…

But in her dreams, she is still locked in that terrifying jail.

When she wakes, someone is trying to communicate with her in secret, through strange and intricate clues. As Evalyn follows their signs, she uncovers a conspiracy that goes so much deeper than her own ordeal. A dangerous intrigue that only she can bring to light. One that will force her to work with the one person she doesn’t want to see.

The person who owns her heart…

A Vault of Sins on Goodreads.

 

Purchase!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

 

Author bio
 

Sarah Harian grew up in the foothills of Yosemite and received her B.A. and M.F.A. from Fresno State University. When not writing, she is usually hiking some mountain or another in the Sierras, playing video games with her husband, or rough-housing with her dog.

 

Website

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Goodreads


 

 

Excerpt

Time is a luxury I didn’t acknowledge until recently.

“Wait,” I repeat.

His eyelashes flutter against me as he blinks. I count, forcing myself to wait a full minute before our lips meet. His tongue coaxes me open, hands fisting the back of my shirt.

I unwrap him, fingers fumbling on every button of his coat. He shrugs it off, and my hands roam from his collar to his belt, sliding beneath his shirt to risen scars. Familiar territory.

“Fuck the media. Fuck everyone. I can’t live like this.” He flips me onto my back and slides on top of me, even though I know he’s hurting. “I can’t keep ignoring you. I can’t keep pretending I don’t give a shit about your life when half the country would kill you if they had the chance.”

“It’s too dangerous.” The second the sentence leaves my mouth, I know it will never persuade him. Hand cupping the back of my neck, he says, “I’d take a bullet for you.”

“Don’t you ever say that again,” I threaten.

He rolls his eyes. “Regardless, we’re fucked anyway, Ev.”

No, I want to say. I’m fucked. And it’s the truth. Before we entered the Compass Room, we signed a contract that said we could be retried for our original crimes. Casey’s lawyer is fantastic. His sentence will be minimal.

Me on the other hand—no further evidence has been found unearthing what really happened the day of the shooting; it’s a closed case. If I’m lucky, I’ll be sentenced to life in prison.

I don’t remind Casey of this. It isn’t just his hip that pains and slows him. I see the shape of his soul in his eyes and the lines of his face. And I want him, as selfish as that is. While I deserve all of this self-loathing, being with Casey reminds me that I’m capable of other emotions too.

I nod. “Then we’ll make something work.”

His smile reaches his eyes, skin crinkling around his lashes. He leans in, and our kiss is slow. His sweeping tongue savors me, and the feeling borders between euphoria and pure torture.

My fingers fumble with his belt buckle until he stops me.

“Not tonight.”

I gape at him, but before I can argue, he cuts me off. “Evalyn, I have three more hours before the sun comes up and all I want to do is stare at you. Let me.”

I relax in defeat and touch my forehead to his. His eyes search mine and I want to ask what he’s looking for, but the question would be too much of an interruption.

So for three hours, we say nothing. His fingers comb through my hair as I think of our confessions of love in the Compass Room, wondering if they were contrived by circumstance—by desperation. Maybe they were and maybe I don’t care. Casey makes me feel human. It’s different with Mom, and even with Liam in the brief moments I’ve seen him since I escaped. In the same breath they say they believe me, they also want to forget, hoping I’ll reboot and begin again.

Casey knows better. He knows it’s more complicated than starting over.

At five in the morning, we call our cars and leave our shitty Missouri hotel. I shut the door behind me, and beneath the eaves, he leans in and kisses me on the cheek.

As he limps toward his car, I realize we haven’t exchanged a word in three hours. And those three hours were exactly how they should have been.

 

Giveaway!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I've Only Read One Book From But Need To Read More

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!

In no particular order:

Chris O'Guinn: I read Arrivals last May and it was brilliant. I need to read more O'Guinn's brilliantness and I've heard good things about his other books.

 

Suzanne van Rooyen: Obscura Burning blew my mind, literally. I've been eyeing The Other Me and I really need to read it. Also, there's a book called I Heart Robots coming from her and I really really want to read that.

 

David Levithan: Technically I've only read book he co-wrote, Will Grayson Will Grayson. I liked Levithan's parts even more than John Green's and I have several of Levithan's books on my TBR.

 

Mandy Hubbard: Dangerous Boy was amazing because it wasn't what mainstream of YA is about. The twist, oh the twist. I need more Hubbards briliantness and I really really want to read Ripple.

 

Vivian Vande Velde: She has one of the unique vampire story's I've ever had pleasure to read (Companions of the Night) and she has published tons of books, so yes, I need to read more stories from her.

 

April Genevieve Tucholke: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is as stunning as it's name. I need to last instalment of this duology and I'll be so happy when I get to read it. Tucholke has her way with the words and the air she creates in her story, so amazing.

 

Page Morgan: Read and loved The Beautiful and the Cursed, such an amazing story; the characters, the feel, the historical aspect. I need the sequel, The Lovely and the Lost (such intriguing name!)

 

Neil Gaiman: Stardust is one of my all time favourites. It's amazing story Gaiman is magic, I'm sure of it. What I need, is to read more of his books. I own Interwold that he co-wrote but I also want to read his other stories.

 

Janet Edwards: Anyone following my posts probably know I loved Edwards' Earth Girl. I need to read rest of the series because it was stunning, so brilliant and I almost don't have words for it. I also need her to write more books.

 

Jane Austen: Shame on me, I've only read Pride and Prejudice. It's wonderful and for years I've been meaning to read more of Austen's books but never got around actually reading them. I will, I absolutely will. I'm not sure where to start, honestly.

 

(+ Sally Green but she doesn't have more than one book, yet, so that's not even possible.)

Stacking the Shelves (16)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

For review via NetGalley

 

Bottled Up Secret by Brian McNamara 

The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky by David Litwack

 

Purchased
 

 

Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout (includes Shadows)

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
 

 

Freebies

 

Deviations by Crystal C. Johnson
 The Forgotten by Saruuh Kelsey

I probably shouldn't get more review copies but I wanted to read Bottled Up Secret and Daughter of the Sea and Sky, and it's not like I'm drowning under my pile of review copies. I have pretty much solid plan for reading them all, so yeah.

The books I purchased, well, I ordered them some weeks ago. Let me just say, the cover of Wuthering Heights is the most beautiful cover ever - and you can never have too many copies of your favourite classic (and I have only three now, and one of them are in Finnish). I loved The Beautiful and the Cursed so I had to have my own copy (and with prettier cover than the UK edition that library had). Opposition.. I'm so disappointed with the cover. It sparkles. I don't want to my covers sparkling. Hell, if I want anything to sparkle I'll watch Twilight. Why did they have to change the covers and make them sparkle? I will never understand.

Freebies are always nice. Eh, I kind of own paperback copy of The Forgotten as well as PDF but well, I didn't have it on my Kindle. It's amazing book and yeah, I'm so not regretting of owning way too many copies of it.

What did you get this week?

Feature & Follow Friday #10

 

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by two different hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! This meme is here for bloggers to gain new blogger friends and followers.

 

This weeks topic:

 

Before blogging (dark times people!) how would you find out about new books or did you?

 

Well, when I was little I was in a book club so I got two new books every month, thus far I read those. Also my friends suggested books for me (I found Harry Potter that way). It went like that for years, friends or teachers recommending books to me. I also loved browsing the library and bookstore, so I kind of found books on my own, too. On my gap year I found out about Goodreads so I use it for finding new books - and I also got new bookish friends even before starting to this blog so yeah, they recommend some books to me.

 

Basically, I still found new books to read via all those channels: friends, teachers, library, bookstore and Goodreads. Blogging is there now, too, but it's not how I found most of the books I read. Just some.

 

 

Or you can add me on Google+.

 

I will always follow back!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated Authors In YA (and NA)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!

This is mostly about YA but I had to add NA there because one of the most underrated authors (and my personal favourite) writes mainly NA - but it's mainly because her characters are eighteen or nineteen and while her stories are NA there isn't huge amount of sex - if there's sex at all. So that's why NA, too.

 

1. Kelley York

Yes, she's the author. My favourite. I've only read two of her books, Hushed and Made of Stars but I'm definitely reading her self-published books Suicide Watch and Dirty London soon (Hushed and Made of Stars are published by Entangled). York's stories are a little bit dark but then again, everything worth of anything must hurt at least a little bit. And she's genious. I love her characters, stories and everything. She's definitely underrated!

 

2. Veronica Rossi

Everyone's at least heard of her, about Under the Never Sky trilogy but she's underrated. Everyone's raving about The Hunger Games and Divergent while in my opinion, Rossi has the most amazing dystopian series with great variety of awesome characters. She's amazing and her writing is awesome. Why aren't we talking about how strong character Aria is instead of always raving about Tris? I'm Team UTNS.

 

3. Dan Wells

Well, I confess that I've only read Partials from him. BUT. Partials is awesome and it's so perfect because it doesn't focus romance or some bullshit troubles. It's freaking cool dystopia with perfectly build world. I'm definitely reading Fragments and Ruins when I get my hands on them. And Wells' other series, too.

 

4. Sally Green

Everyone's probably heard about Half Bad but how many have actually read it? Appreciated it? I loved Half Bad, it was stunning, captivating and yeah, I wanted save Nathan from everyone. I'm not huge fan of magic in YA because often it ends up being so... boring - well if we don't count Harry Potters because that's awesome. Half Bad is about old school magic and it was so good and why haven't you read it? Read, it's good and Green is definitely underrated.

 

5. Sarah Crossan

Okay, again, I confess that I've only read Breathe. I do own Resist and I have every intention to read it soon-ish. Breathe is so awesome dystopian that there's no boundaries (and it's duology - how freaking many dystopians are duologys? not many). Also, Crossan has a couple of contemporaries and they sound intriguing. I really need to get them.

 

6. Janet Edwards

I really need to read Earth Star and Earth Flight but let me just say that Earth Girl was truly good. It was so perfect, Jarra was amazing and strong character and the romance wasn't the main point and if you want, you can read Earth Girl as a standalone and not read the two following books. Also, there's history in it. Like they freaking study history/archaelogy in future and it's so awesome because so often in dystopia/sci-fi YA books they ignores history. We don't have future unless we have history.

 

7. Jus Accardo

Why she isn't worshipped? Hmm? She has tons of amazing books, both YA and NA and her writing and characters are so witty, snarky and perfect little beings. The Denazen series (Touch, Toxic, Tremble + two untitled books) is so good, Rules of Survival is fun and captivating and yeah, haven't read rest of her books yet but I'm planning to read Ruined and Darker Days soon. I trust Accardo, she writes amazing stories and characters that I can't help but love.

 

Okay, that was all and I'm going to leave it that way even though there's not ten. I'll let it go this time.

Four books to trade! (all are in great condition)

I went through my bookshelves at home and found four books I have no interest to read again. Instead of collecting dust on my shelves I decided to offer them to someone who would like to read them. So here's my deal: I have four books (great condition, read once [one not read at all], no dog ears, no broken spines) I'm willing to trade. If you want one of them, send me an email offering me a book for exchange. If I accept it, I'll send the book you chose to you. I'll pay the shipping but that means you have to pay the shipping of book you'll send me. I think it's fair and both can be happy and have new books to read!

 

However, the books are at my home and I'll be leaving for campus on Monday, you'll have to email me before Midnight on Sunday (UTC+2 so that'll be 5pm at New York and 10pm at London), and I'll be shipping the books on Monday.

 

Here's picture of the books in question:

 

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

 

(Pandemonium is larger than others, other's are pretty standard size and Pandemonium is huge.)

 

All are paperbacks.

 

If you want one, email me howlingforbooks[at]gmail[dot]com and tell me what book you want and what are you offering for me in trade. I'll answer to you ASAP and if I accept your offer, I'll email my address and expect yours in return so I can send the book to you.

 

First offer I accept will get the book (and I'll update this post to announce what books are already taken). And I'll probably accept your offer as long as your book is in good condition and I don't already have copy of it (I read pretty much all genres from all ages so I'm not picky at all).



Stacking the Shelves (15)

 

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 

Purchased

 

Interworld by Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

 

 

Gifts (won a giftcard for LT3 Bookmarket Place)

 

Dragon Slayer by Isabella Carter

Finding the Wolf by Mell Eight

Into the Divide by Sandra Bard

Words of Divinity by Kayla Bain-Vrba

 

I had some time at the bookstore while waiting for the bus so I picked up Interworld (it sounds so good) and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (which was ridicilously cheap for a hardcover). On Wednesday I won a gift card to LT3's own online store so I picked five books (the fifth was a preorder so it'll come later) that caught my attention.

 

Also my previous book order apparently came but it's on campus and I'm at home so I'll include it next week's STS.

 

What did you get this week?

Feature & Follow Friday #9

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by two different hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! This meme is here for bloggers to gain new blogger friends and followers.

 

This weeks topic:

Are you also a writer and what genre or did you ever consider writing?

 

I do write, yes, but I have trouble to stay with one story so I've tons of storylines and characters plotted and I've written most from one page to ten pages. There's some stories I keep coming back regularly and write some more but I don't have time that much now when I started my studies again, with this blog and all reading I do. But yeah, my goal is to some day start writing more and daily and I do intent to finish my stories. Nowadays my priority just is studying because I do want to graduate with good grades in the future.

 

(And for what genre, let's just say that it doesn't matter that much - everything from YA to adult, from contemporary to high fantasy and beyond. I'm not genre oriented, obviously.)

 

 

 

Or you can add me on Google+.

 

I will always follow back!