Spring Blog Carnival Hop & Giveaway!

I love spring. You want to know why I love spring, I love spring because where I live, I deal with snow and cold 6-8 months out of the year, and when I say cold, I mean really really cold. minus 35-40 degree celcius. Which is pretty freaking cold. So when spring shows it's beautiful face, I get pretty excited.  Which is why I am really excited to be part of the Spring Blog Carnival taking place this week (May 1st-8th) Hosted by:

Candace's Book Blog                                                                                        
Reading Angel
Pure Imagination
The Book Swarm

They are going to be doing a lot of cool things this week. This is not only a hop but also a challenge, so check out their blogs for more info on the challenges.



I read one of the most amazing books this year, Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (My Thoughts), and I would really love to buy it for you. I would also like to buy you a book of your choice (It has to be under $15.00).  So TWO books could be yours. 

What's the catch:

• You need to leave a comment telling me what's been the most AMAZING book you've read this year so far.
• You need to tell me what book you would like me to send you in addition to Jellicoe Road*.
• This contest is open internationally BUT I am sending from the book depository so please check here to see if they ship to your country. 
• You DON'T need to be a follower but I would appreciate it if you took some time to look at my blog and follow if you like what you see.
• Plese leave an e-mail address in your comment so I can contact you when and if you win.
• Contest closes at midnight of May 8th. I will announce the winner on Monday May 9th, I will also send the winner an e-mail and they will have 48 hours to get back to me, before I chose another winner.
• Winners will be selected using Random.org.  

*If you have read Jellicoe Road, you can still enter, You can chose something else from the book depository as long as it's under $10.00.

Be sure to check out everyone else who is taking part in this giveaway hop-Linky list can be found at the bottom of this post- for more chances to win.






If there are any questions let me know.

Good Luck Everyone!

Book Blogger Hop (10) Follow Friday (9)

The Books Blogger Hop is hosted by Jen at Crazy for Books.

This weeks questions is:

"Summer is coming quickly - what 2011 summer release are you are most looking forward to?"

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han. It came out this week and I'd been waiting all  year for it's release.  I feel a little bit like a broken record going on and on about this series, but I love it. My favourite summer read.



 

Follow Friday is hosted over at Parajunkee's View

This weeks question is...

If you were stocking your bomb shelter, what books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?

Only 10 books. Uhh.

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.                         
2) The BDB in one giant volume by JR Ward

3) Jellicoe Road Melina Marchetta                                   
4) The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

5) Dirty by Megan Hart                                                    
6) The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

7) The Hunter's Moon by OR Melling                               
8) Public Secrets by Nora Roberts 

9) Dreamland by Sarah Dessen                                       
10) Prince of Magic by Anne Stuart.

I have no idea if this list is true. But Meh.

 

My Thoughts: Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan







This isn't going to be much of a review, as I did not finish Iron Witch because I did not like it. I got terribly bored with it, and had to put it down. I tried a few times to pick it back up, but wouldn't get very far before I had to stop again.  I contemplated even posting a "review" but here I am...

I was looking forward to this book. I thought it was going to be excellent, and I was so terribly disappointed. I did not like the way the story moved. I found it very slow, painfully so. I don't know if there was anything that I myself enjoyed about this book.  Usually there is something, but not in this one. I got bored. The characters were annoying and not very likable. The one thing that I found interesting was Donna's mother and her mysterious message to Donna. But even that prospect could keep me reading.

I will maybe finish this book someday. Little by little. But not now.

Happy Reading Everyone!

My Thoughts: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers.
But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?




I had been dreaming of reading this book for a long time before I did. I would see it at the bookstore and see it's GORGEOUS cover and I would want to buy it but I would always walk away. I wanted to wait for the paper back to come out. I am SO disappointed that the covers for this series have changed. Let me tell you. The original covers are so beautiful they really are, if the new cover would have been the cover that Nightshade would have been released with I would not have looked twice at it (I'm sorry if that is rude). To me the new covers look cheap and poorly thought out.  But that's enough of a tangent.

This book has already received a ton of reviews and everyone loves it. And they should. It was really good. The synopsis found on the book is a little misleading, but that's ok. Andrea Cremer wrote a really great book. Her writing style is engaging and light. I didn't feel bogged down with big words and mangled sentences. The story and the writing flowed beautifully.

The plot was great. I would get stressed out a little when as a reader, I would figure something out, that eh protagonists wouldn't know about for a while. I would often catch myself yelling "Open your eyes". I'm silly like that. I loved the shifters and their lore. The idea of Keepers and Guardians was new to me and it intrigued me.

I loved the two wolf packs-The Banes, and The Nightshades- I loved how loyal they were to each other and I loved how they could come together and form a new pack (sort of). I loved how they were not thrilled about the idea, and how the would bicker back and forth. I liked Calla, I thought she was a great protag. I would get annoyed with her when she would submit to Ren when she should have held her ground (she's also an alpha), I liked Ren-even more then Shay- I thought he was cocky but sweet at the same time. He was loyal to his pack and he was fair. I didn't like it when he was get all alpha type and dominate Calla. I liked Shay, but I totally thought he was a wimp. I thought he whined a lot and did not take things like a man. He was such a suck. It's funny now. 

I am totally sucked into this series and I am really looking forward to Wolfsbane I can't wait to see where the story and these characters are heading.

Happy Reading Everyone!

My Thoughts: White Cat by Holly Black

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Again, I was late on the Holly Black phenomena. I had heard about her and her books but I hadn't read any of them before picking up White Cat. I wasn't all that interested in reading this story, I was not all that excited about the crime family scenario and I was confused about curse workers and such (the blurd did not grab my attention). But never the less I was at the library and decided to give this one a go. I'll be honest it took me a while to get into the story, and I didn't love it the way a lot of people did. I thought it was ooook.

I liked Cassel-I actually liked him a lot- I thought he was funny and clever (he whined a lot at times but that's understandable) I liked his friends (a lot of other readers didn't), but Daneca and Sam added to Cassel's character well. His grandfather I was not a fan of in the beginning but he grew on me, probably when he saved his grandson's life.

I did not like the family dynamics. I mean really? One brother holding Cassel down while the other kicks the crap out of him just to prove to your "boss" that you can. That annoyed me. I kept thinking that his brother's really needed to grow a pair. I almost felt sorry for Anton and the way he was losing his memory but that sympathy went out the window midway through the book. Philip. Forget it. He was a grade A jerk. He was awful to his wife, to his brothers, to everyone. He was my least favourite character by far. Their mother on the other hand was real hoot. I found her to be kind of funny, in a "did she really just do/say that?" kind of way. I look forward to reading more about her.

The White Cat-Lila- I don't think I really liked her. I don't know. It's the mob thing, needing to prove your strong enough. I don't like that kind of character. Lila was like that, it made me roll my eyes a time or two. But that's just me.

I loved Holly's writing though. The story was fun and the way she describes things is fabulous. I think even my hating Cassel's Brothers was due to her writing. All in all I plan on reading Red Glove (maybe not right away), but I am curious about what's in store for Cassel and his family, even Lila, because the end had me laughing my head off. Oh Mom, really?

Happy Reading Everyone.

Book Blogger Hop (9) Follow Friday (8)

Book Blogger Hop hosted by Jen at Crazy for Books.

This week's question:

"If you find a book you love, do you hunt down other books by the same author?"

Oh for sure. I love reading books from authors that I love. I've done it with a lot of my romance authors like Rachel Gibson. I also did it with Jodi Picoult, after The Pact I wanted to read everything, now I limit myself to one a year due to the intense stress I suffer from her books. Currently I am in search of anything by Melina Marchetta, Jellicoe Road was so amazing that I want to know what else this woman can dish out. 

Follow Friday is hosted over at Parajunkee's View.

This weeks question is...

What is on your current playlist right now?

Right now I am listening to:

Adele

Panic at the Disco

Joshua Radin

MoZella

City and Colour.

And many more but we need to keep this short.



INVINCIBLE SUMMER book trailer

I don't usually post book trailers, because in all honesty I usually don't like them. But this book trailer for Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz is actually REALLY good. I'm actually kind of bummed that I didn't read this when I had the chance. I'll have to wait till the end of my book buying ban to grab this one. Ugh.

Happy Reading Everyone!