Mailbox Monday- February 15, 2010

Mailbox Monday: Here's what came in my mailbox this week

MONDAY

Dedication- Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus--for review per publisher request

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine- Lauren Willig--for review per publisher request







TUESDAY

The Summer Before- Ann M. Martin--from publisher per my request

All Unquiet Things- Anna Jarzab--Bookmooch








WEDNESDAY

Hex Hall- Rachel Hawkins--from publisher per my request

Spider’s Bite- Jennifer Estep--review for Pocket Book Blog Tours








FRIDAY

Claire de Lune- Christine Johnson-- review for Around the World Tours








SATURDAY

Still Sucks to Be Me- Kimberly Pauley--review for Around the World Tours

Once Dead, Twice Shy- Kim Harrison--PaperbackSwap

My Zombie Valentine- Katie MacAlister, Angie Fox, Marianne Mancusi, Lisa Cach—PaperbackSwap

Huge Contest by Maggie Stiefvater!

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

How exciting!

The Sunday Salon- February 14, 2010

The Sunday Salon

Happy Valentine's Day!  Kory is taking me out to dinner tonight, but he won't tell me where.  When I told him I needed to know what to wear, he said "a dress."  I told him there were different styles of dress, from casual to fancy and made him pick out one for me.  It's a cute little cocktail dress so we must be going somewhere nice!  But its so cold here!  (for Florida anyways) and I don't have a dressy coat so I'm going to freeze! :)

I finished and reviewed the following books this week:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson








I fulfilled items in the following challenges this week:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 19, 21
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 15, 16
2010 Debut Author Challenge: 7
TwentyTen Reading Challenge: Who Are You Again? #2
ARC Reading Challenge 2010: 15
 
I am currently reading Still Sucks To Be Me by Kimberly Pauley and up next is The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley.

Book Review- Claire de Lune

I just finished reading Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson for an Around the World Tour.

From Christine Johnson's website:

Hanover Falls hasn’t had a werewolf problem in over one hundred years. Seattle, Copenhagen, Osaka–they’ve had plenty of attacks. But when humans begin dying in Claire Benoit’s town, the panic spreads faster than a rumor at a pep rally. At Claire’s sixteenth birthday party, the gruesome killings are all anyone can talk about. But the big news in Claire’s mind is the fact that Matthew Engle–high-school soccer god and son of a world-renowned lycanthropy expert–notices her. And flirts with her. A lot.

That night, Claire learns that she is the latest in a long line of Benoit werewolves, and that contrary to popular belief, all werewolves are female. Killing humans is forbidden by the code of the pack, but a rogue werewolf has been breaking that law, threatening the existence of Claire’s new pack. As the pack struggles to find and fight the rogue werewolf and Claire struggles with her lupine identity, her heart and her loyalties are torn in two. Claire must keep her new life a secret from even her best friend–and especially from Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt…and with whom Claire is impossibly and undeniably falling head-over-paws in love.

While I have seen this book on many blogger's WoW posts or Wish List posts, I hadn't read any reviews of the book so I went in reading the story with no idea of what it would be like.  And that was kind of refreshing for a change.

There wasn't too much action in this book--mostly just little snippets at the beginning of some chapters and towards the end.  I definitely think its a book driven by characters. There is some suspense and wonder who the rogue werewolf is, but it's mostly about how Claire deals with learning about her future as a werewolf and about dealing with a first love.  I really liked both Claire and her boyfriend, Matthew.  They both seemed like such real teenagers. 

When you get to the end of the book, there is two ways that the story could go.  One that would be heartbreaking and one that would be a happily-ever-after.  I won't give away what happens, but I like the choice that the author made.

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

Claire de Lune will be released on May 18, 2010.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 21
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 16
2010 Debut Author Challenge: 7
TwentyTen Reading Challenge: Who Are You Again? #2
ARC Reading Challenge 2010: 15

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Friday Firsts- February 12, 2010

The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence? To participate in this weekly book meme is extremely easy.
~Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
~Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph.
~Create a blog post with this information. (Make sure to include the title & author of the book you are using. Even an ISBN helps!)

" 'My name is Gin, and I kill people.' "
~Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep (ISBN 9781439147979)

Friday Fill-In- February 12, 2010

Friday Fill-In

1. Pickles is in a new phrase in my kindergarten class...instead of saying "aww, man" they keep saying "aww, pickles!"
2. Tonight we will be eating dinner at home.
3. The snow is making its way south...apparently we might have snow flurries in Orlando tonight.
4.I am not a girl who like to camp in nature.
5. It's 5:16 PM; that means that Kory gets off work in 14 minutes.
6. A wine I like is hard to find.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include grocery shopping and Sunday, I want to find out where Kory has planned dinner for Valentine's Day!

Friday Finds- February 12, 2010

Here are my finds for the week:

Radiance- Alyson Noel

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals comes a new middle-grade series featuring Ever’s younger sister, Riley.

Welcome to the Here and Now

Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she’s summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can’t quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he’s never met Riley. . . . (From the Immortal Series website)

Fat Cat- Robin Brande

You are what you eat. . . .

Cat smart, sassy, and funny—but thin, she’s not. Until her class science project. That’s when she winds up doing an experiment—on herself. Before she knows it, Cat is living—and eating—like the hominids, our earliest human ancestors. True, no chips or TV is a bummer and no car is a pain, but healthful eating and walking everywhere do have their benefits.

As the pounds drop off, the guys pile on. All this newfound male attention is enough to drive a girl crazy! If only she weren’t too busy hating Matt McKinney to notice. . . .

This funny and thoughtful novel explores how girls feel about their bodies, and the ways they can best take care of their most precious resource: themselves. (From Goodreads)

Book Review- City of Bones

I finally finished reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

From Goodreads.com:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
 
Wow.  I can't remember the last time it took me a week to read a book.  The book is really big and while I enjoyed the story, I found I had to spend a lot of time thinking about what things were and who was who. 
 
I feel mixed about the characters.  The main girl character, Clary, was just okay for me.  I never really connected to her like I wanted to, or felt any warmth from her.  But I did like two of the male characters- Jace and Simon.  I loved Jace and his arrogant ways--and how he was soft- hearted when he wanted to be.  And I thought Simon seemed to be one of those totally dorky guys that are hot when you really look at them.
 
The story was fun.  There was lots of elements to the plot that were new to me.  And there were a bunch of surprises.  Some I saw coming, and some I didn't--especially a big one at the end of the story.  I have the second and the third books in The Mortal Instrument series and look forward to reading them soon!
 
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 19
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 15
 
*FTC Disclosure: I traded this book with a friend.

Wednesday Wordle- February 10, 2010

Here is a screen shot of my Wordle for the week (Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from words that is seen on my blog)

Waiting on Wednesday- February 10, 2010

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Brightly Woven
by Alexandra Bracken
Publication Release Date: March 23, 2010

From Alexandra Bracken's website:

Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.

In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.

Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.