Pages

Saturday, February 27, 2010

In My Mailbox (week 8)

IN MY MAILBOX
*Hosted by The Story Siren, inspired by Pop Culture Junkie*


WON:

The Ex-Games by Jennifer Echols
* won from Sarah's Random Musings *

Brace yourself for the battle of the exes...
Hayden and Nick used to be a hot item, but their brief affair ended with a highly publicized breakup. Now the two are "just friends," excluding the occasional flirtation.
When Hayden wins the girls' division of a local snowboarding competition, Nick is unimpressed, claiming that Hayden wouldn't have a chance against a guy. Hayden calls Nick's bluff and challenges him to a head-to-head boarding contest. Their mutual friends quickly take sides, the girls on Hayden's and the boys on Nick's, making for an all-out battle of the sexes.
This friendly competition is bound to get heated - and they might end up igniting some old flames.



Wild Heart by Lori Brighton
* Won from First Reads@Goodreads *

Leo Roberts is next in line for an earldom and the power and fortune that come with it, but he is uncultured, unrefined--and completely untamed. . .until governess Ella Finch arrives upon the scene. Can so young and inexperienced a woman tutor him in the manners and mores of his class? Leo's mysterious past has rendered him an outsider, too wild for polite society. But he finds her innocence most intriguing. . .

What manner of man he may be, Ella does not know. Yet he fascinates her and she must know more. Capturing Leo's reckless heart is about to free her in ways she never dreamed of. . .and his sensual touch releases the deepest yearnings of her body and soul. . .



Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
* Won from Frankie Writes *

Sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe and her twin sister Alice have just become orphans, and, as Lia discovers, they have also become enemies. The twins are part of an ancient prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other. To escape from a dark fate and to remain in the arms of her beloved boyfriend James, Lia must end the prophecy before her sister does. Only then will she understand the mysterious circumstances of her parents' deaths, the true meaning of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and the lengths to which her sister will go to defeat her. Debut novelist Michelle Zink takes readers on an unforgettable journey where one sister's fateful decision could have an impact of Biblical proportions. Prophecy of the Sisters is the first of three books.


The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

* Won from Frankie Writes *

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

From the Library:

Chosen by P.C Cast
Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampire Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series”, in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before.




Untamed by P. C. Cast
Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you. Just ask Zoey Redbird – she’s become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her, to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, the only two Zoey has left are undead and unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey's adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in PC and Kristin Cast's spellbinding fourth House of Night novel.

Hunted by P.C Cast
The good news: Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer. The bad news: Ancient evil with the face of an angel has been let loose – that and various other nasties (whose faces aren’t so angelic). Grandma Redbird is in trouble. Heath is in trouble. The House of Night is in trouble. Okay, let’s face it – Zoey’s whole world is in trouble! But when the trouble comes from a being who appears to be beauty personified, will the world believe it? Especially when only a teenager and a group of misfits are the only ones who really understand the danger he brings. Will Zoey have the strength and wisdom to reveal the truth? Especially when, in the House of Night, the truth is often hard to come by…

Tempted by P. C. Cast
Zoey needs a break after some serious excitement. Sadly, the House of Night school for vampyres doesn't feature breaks on its curriculum - even for a High Priestess in training and her gang. Plus juggling three guys is no stress reliever, especially when one is a sexy Warrior so into protecting Zoey that he's sensing her emotions. Wider stresses lurk too, and the dark force in Tulsa's tunnels is spreading. Could Stevie Rae be responsible for more than a group of misfit fledglings? And Aphrodite's visions warn Zoey to stay away from the immortal Kalona and his dark allure - but they also show that only Zoey can stop him. She's not exactly keen to meet up, but if Zoey doesn't go to Kalona he'll exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. She just has to find the courage to do what's necessary, or everything that's important to her will be destroyed.

So, lots of books for me this week :) I want to thank Sarah, Lori and Frankie for having awesome contests, and for shipping the books all the way to Sweden. I'm reading The Ex-Games right now, and I'm loving it so far! Can't wait to read my other contest wins :)
I saw that my library just bought the House of Night series, so after reading the two first books I decided to give the rest of the series a try!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Book Review: Dead To The World

Title: Dead To The World
Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse (Book 4)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Published: 2005

When cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse sees a naked man on the side of the road, she doesn't just drive on by. Turns out the poor thing hasn't a clue who he is, but Sookie does. It's Eric the vampire--but now he's a kinder, gentler Eric. And a scared Eric, because whoever took his memory now wants his life. . .

My Review: Poor Sookie Stackhouse. As if breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, being caught up in the vampires business, and worrying about her financial troubles wasn't enough! Now she has to take care of Eric, who suffers from amnesia, while worrying about her brother who has gone missing.
Plus it looks like Bon Temps attracts supernatural beings, the place is teeming not only out of vampires and shape shifters, but also werewolves, witches and even a fairy! And as usual, Sookie is caught in between. . .

If you liked the previous books in the Sookie Stackhouse series, you will like this one too. And if you are a fan of Eric Northman, you will definitely enjoy this one!

Rating: 4 of 5

Previous books in this series:
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Vampire of the Week

Vampire of the Week is a semi-weekly feature on my blog. For more information, go here. To see previous VoW's click here.

And this week's Vampire of the Week is. . .















Adrian Ivashkov!

Adrian is a royal Moroi, specialized in spirit. He first turned up in Frostbite, the second Vampire Academy book, and has been a regular character since then.

Why does Adrian deserve to be Vampire of the Week?

When we first got to know Adrian, he was the ultimate badboy. He was sarcastic, flirtatious, and numbed the effects of spirit use with drinking and chain smoking.

During the latest VA book however (Blood Promise) we got to see a whole different side of Adrian. He was kind, caring, generous and acting more responsible and matured. But he still had the personality traits we love so much - he's irony and sarcasm.

If Vampire Academy were made into a movie, who would you like to see playing Adrian?

Ed Westwick? (Photo Above)

Ian Somerhalder?

Matt Lanter?Bradley James?
or someone else?

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (2/24)

Title: My Invisible Boyfriend
Author: Susie Day
Release Date: April 1st, 2010

Heidi has the perfect solution to her popularity problems - a fake boyfriend. She's even made him an Internet profile that makes him look like a motorcycle-riding, poetry reading bad boy. *swoon* Heidi's friends are so impressed they start emailing Heidi's fake boyfriend with their problems . . . including their problems with Heidi.

As if that weren't bad enough, a delicious and possibly single person called "A Real Boy" emails Heidi to say he knows the truth. Can Heidi escape from her world wide web of lies? Or will her chance at romance disappear faster than you can type gtg?

Sounds like a really cute and fun book! :)

* Waiting on Wednesday was created by Jill at Breaking the Spine. *

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Book Review: The Vampire's Assistant

Title: The Vampire's Assistant
Series: Cirque de Freak (Book 2)
Author: Darren Shan
Published: 2000

Darren Shan was just an ordinary schoolboy - until his visit to the Cirque Du Freak. Now, as he struggles with his new life as a Vampire's Assistant, he tries desperately to resist the one temptation that sickens him, the one thing that can keep him alive. But destiny is calling... the Wolf Man is waiting.

The Vampire's Assistant is, with it's close to 200 pages, a quick and light read for tweens and younger teenagers.

This book was written in 2000, but it feels a lot older than that. First I thought this story was set in the early 1900s, since that's when traveling circuses, bearding ladies and fortune tellers were common. But then Darren talked about computers and video games, so I guess the story is set in present time, after all.

One thing that annoyed me while reading this book was that a lot of the chapters ended with "If I only had known about the catastrophe about to happen, then I wouldn't have done that", or something along those lines. Then the next chapter ended with the same sentence, without us getting any closer to the catastasis. . .

I will rate this book 2.5 out of 5, but I think younger teenagers will enjoy it far more than I did!

Rating: 2.5 of 5
Fan(g) Girl