Book Review: The Wishing Spell

I just finished reading The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories #1) by Chris Colfer for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Alex and Conner Bailey’s world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairytales.

The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.

Okay, so I'll be honest.  I first signed up to read this book just because I am a huge Gleek and knew that one of the characters that I loved from the show wrote the book.  And then when I got it and saw that it was about fairy tales, I had mixed feelings.  On the one hand, I LOVE fairy tales (heck...my wedding was princess themed at Disney World!) but on the other hand, I have read so many retellings that I didn't like.

Right away, I knew that I would enjoy this story.  Once again, I have to be honest.  The book was written for middle grade kids, which I usually don't enjoy.   And I don't think that the actual writing was all that great.  But as for the story as a whole, I loved it!  I loved the idea of these kids falling into the fairy tale land.  And getting to meet all of the characters that they'd grown up loving (and I still love)! 

I was totally Alex when I was younger, but with slightly more friends.  I was the girl that knew all the answers and would never be found without a book.  And I was obsessed with fairy tales.  If I had fallen into a fairy tale land, I'm not sure I would ever have left.  I loved reading this version of my favorite characters too.  I loved that Goldilocks was kick butt.  And that the princesses were so sweet.  And that there were so many mention of fairy tales, that there were even small ones mentioned.

Do I think this book is going to win any awards?  Probably not.  Am I going to be picking up the next book in this series?  As soon as I can possibly get my hands on it! 

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 64
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 52
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 16
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 55

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

In My Mailbox- August 27, 2012

In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week

MONDAY
Small Change- Sheila Roberts--Bookmooch











WEDNESDAY
The Forsaken- Lisa M. Stasse---for review from publisher











FRIDAY
Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire- Heather Swain--just showed up for review











Forever Summer- Alyson Noel--PaperbackSwap











SATURDAY
Kitty Steals the Show (Kitty Norville #10)- Carrie Vaughn--PaperbackSwap











Drink, Slay, Love- Sarah Beth Durst--PaperbackSwap











Insurgent (Divergent #2)- Veronica Roth--PaperbackSwap











The Nightmare Garden (Iron Codex #2)- Caitlin Kittredge--PaperbackSwap











The Butcher of Beverly Hills (McAfee Twins #1)- Jennifer Colt--Bookmooch

The Sunday Salon- August 26, 2012

The Sunday Salon

The first week of school is over and done.  Whew!  2 out of the 5 days we had late dismissal due to weather.  And with Tropical Storm Issac, we'll probably have the same issues tomorrow!

I finished and reviewed the following books last week:
Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini











Rift (Nightshade Prequel #1) by Andrea Cremer











I fulfilled items in the following challenges last week:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 62, 63
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 50, 51
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 15
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 53, 5
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 15

I am currently reading The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer and up next is Origin by Jessica Khoury.

Book Review- Rift

I just finished reading Rift (Nightshade Prequel #1) by Andrea Cremer for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Chronicling the rise of the Keepers, this is the stunning prequel to Andrea Cremer's internationally bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

Like I've said many times before and will probably say many times again, I am one of those readers that when reading a part of a series, I need a refresher in books after the first one.  Now I knew this book was considered a prequel of the series, but still, some kind of reference to what was going on would have been nice.  Even after reading the book, I still can't remember how this ties into the series (oops!)

This book was pretty hard for me to get into.  There's a lot of action but it was kind of dry.  If that makes any sense.  It just didn't catch my attention and make me want to not be able to put it down.  It did pick up towards the end some but it took a while.

I know there is a sequel to this prequel (makes sense, right?) and I have it on my wish list, but its not one I'm dying to pick up.  Hopefully I will be able to find that one more engaging.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 63
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 51
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 54

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

Waiting on Wednesday- August 22, 2012

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

Hidden (House of Night #10)
by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Publication Release Date: October 16, 2012

From Goodreads:

Neferet’s true nature has been revealed to the Vampyre High Council, so Zoey and the gang might finally get some help in defending themselves and their beloved school against a gathering evil that grows stronger every day. And they’ll need it, because Neferet’s not going down without a fight. Chaos reigns at the House of Night.

Book Review- Touching the Surface

Early this morning, I finished reading Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

I had been in a little bit of a reading slump so this was a nice change.   I easily fell into reading the story--the words just flowed so well for me and I found myself halfway through the book quicker than I imagined.

I do have to admit that I found myself rolling my eyes a couple of times, especially at the way the word "love" was thrown around. But that didn't diminish from my enjoyment.

  I enjoyed reading this version of the afterlife.  The idea of souls going into humans several times so they can "grow" with a central meeting place between lives was a new one.  I liked reading about the past lives through Delves and thought the triangle between Elliot, Oliver, and Trevor interesting as well as the friendship between Elliot and Julia.

Unfortunately, I think this book is a standalone.  I would love to read about what happens to Elliot next!

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

Touching the Surface will be released on October 30, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 62
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 50
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 15
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 53
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 15

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

In My Mailbox- August 20, 2012

In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week
FRIDAY
The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories #1)- Chris Colfer--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

The Sunday Salon- August 19, 2012

The Sunday Salon

Well, school started yesterday.  I had a busy week last week and then this weekend getting ready, so I'm posting this a little late.  I know I say it every year, but I really do forget how little and baby-ish they are when they come.  They mature so much in that one year!

I finished and reviewed the following books last week:

The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristin Harmel

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

The Blessed by Tonya Hurley

I fulfilled items in the following challenges last week:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 56, 60, 61
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-14
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 48, 49
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 51, 52
2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge: 5
2012 Mammoth Book Challenge: 6

I am currently reading Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini and up next is Rift by Andrea Cremer.

Book Review- The Blessed

I just finished reading The Blessed by Tonya Hurley for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

From the author of the New York Times bestselling ghostgirl series, the start to a captivating and haunting teen trilogy about three girls who become entangled with an enigmatic boy—a boy who believes he is a saint.What if martyrs and saints lived among us? And what if you were told you were one of them?

Meet Agnes, Cecilia, and Lucy. Three lost girls, each searching for something. But what they find is Beyond Belief.

Ugh. This is the closest I've ever come to putting a book down and not finishing it.  Unfortunately, I can't ever let myself do this.  And the book never got any better.

I never really knew what was going on.  I don't know if it's because it was a retelling of some religious story or not, but I didn't get it.  And the writing was so choppy.  Nothing really flowed. 

I didn't like the characters either.  Well, that's not completely true.  Agnes was pityful.  Not sure if that made me like her, but I didn't dislike her like I did the others.  And Sebastian vs. Dr Frey.  I knew really figured out who was the bad guy and who was the good guy.  And honestly, I didn't care.  I just wanted the book to be over.

This is supposed to be the first book in a trilogy but I will not be picking up the next two to read.  This was definitely not a book for me.

I gave this book a rating of 2/5.

The Blessed will be released on September 25, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 61
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 49
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 52

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

Contest Winner- Once

According to Rafflecopter,

holdenj

has won a copy of Once by Anna Carey! Please email your address to me at belle2211(at)yahoo(dot)com by Monday at 4pm and I'll have your book mailed out to you!

Cover Reveal- Wicked Sense

Today is the cover reveal for Wicked Sense by Fabio Bueno.

Witches inhabit our world, organized in covens and hiding behind a shroud of secrecy— the Veil.

Skye’s London coven sends her to Seattle’s Greenwood High to find the Singularity, an unusually gifted witch who may break the Veil and trigger a dangerous new era of witch-hunting. Things get complicated when Skye meets a charming new classmate, Drake. Skye’s job becomes even trickier when she clashes with Jane, an intimidating rival witch.

Drake falls for the mysterious Skye, but odd accidents, potion mix-ups, and the occasional brush with death kind of get in the way of romance. Once he discovers Skye is a witch, he goes to war for her, even though his only weapons are a nice set of abs and a sharp sense of humor.

Fighting off wicked Jane and the other dark forces hell-bent on seizing the Singularity's immense power, Skye and Drake will risk everything to save the covens.

Going on a date has never been harder.

I am revealing the cover for The Readiacs.

Waiting on Wednesday- August 15, 2012

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

Echo (Soul Seekers #2)
by Alyson Noel
Publication Release Date: November 13, 2012

From Goodreads:


The second book in the Soul Seekers series about a girl who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead by #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël!

Daire Santos just saved her grandmother's life—and her soul. But at a cost. The Richters, a dark family of sorcerers, have been let loose in the Lowerworld, and Daire and her boyfriend, Dace, must once again work together to find them before they upset the balance between good and evil, and destroy not only their small town in New Mexico, but the entire world.

As Daire and Dace's relationship deepens, Dace’s evil brother Cade grows stronger than ever, building his power and forcing Daire to confront the horrifying prophecy that has brought them all together. One that will leave Daire no choice but to claim her true destiny as Seeker, but only by making an unthinkable sacrifice for the greater good of all

In My Mailbox- August 13, 2012

In My Mailbox:These are the books that I've recieved this summer while I was gone travelling:

Black City- Elizabeth Richards--from publisher for review

The Innocents- Lili Peloquin--from publisher for review

Level 2- Lenore Appelhans--for an Around the World ARC Tour

Stealing Parker- Miranda Kenneally--for an Around the World ARC Tour

Marrying Up- Wendy Holden--from publisher for Sourcebooks blog tour

The Sweetness of Forgetting- Kristin Harmel--from publisher for Gallery Books blog tour

The Friday Society- Adrienne Kress--from publisher for review

It’s All Greek To Me- Katie MacAlister--PaperbackSwap

The Gap Year- Sarah Bird--from publisher for Gallery Books blog tour

Working Stiff (Revivalist #1)- Rachel Caine--PaperbackSwap

Hexbound (Dark Elite #2)- Chloe Neill--PaperbackSwap

Infinity (Numbers #3)- Rachel Ward--PaperbackSwap

Until I Die (Revenants #2)- Amy Plum--PaperbackSwap

Dearly, Beloved (Gone with the Respiration #2)- Lia Habel--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

Rift (Nightshade Prequel #1)- Andrea Cremer--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

Die for Me (Revenants #1)- Amy Plum--PaperbackSwap

Passion (Fallen #3)- Lauren Kate--PaperbackSwap

Passing Strange (Generation Dead #3)- Daniel Waters--PaperbackSwap

Explosive Eighteen (Stephanie Plum #18)- Janet Evanovich--PaperbackSwap

52 Reasons to Hate My Father- Jessica Brody--PaperbackSwap

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)- Julie Kagawa--PaperbackSwap

A Werewolf in Manhattan (Wild About You #1)- Vicki Lewis Thompson--Bookmooch

Blood Fever (The Watchers #3)- Veronica Wolff--from publisher for review

Fifty Shades of Grey- E.L. James--bought

Fifty Shades Darker- E.L. James--bought

Fifty Shades Freed- E.L. James--bought

The Vampire of Venice Beach (McAffee Twins #3)- Jennifer Colt--PaperbackSwap

Origin- Jessica Khoury--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

The Blessed- Tonya Hurley--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

Touching the Surface- Kimberly Sabatini--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

Blood Bound (Unbound #1)- Rachel Vincent--PaperbackSwap