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September 30, 2010

Book Review: 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Little Blue Envelope #1
Release Date: October 1st, 2006
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age: Young Adult
When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.
Ginny is just an ordinary girl, until she receives 13 letters from her aunt with tasks and enough money to travel to Europe. Her instructions sometimes are easy, like meeting someone; or difficult, as finding a little coffee shop in Paris. Oh, and she needs to do it alone, with just a bag pack and no communication with her family and friends in USA.

I really liked this book. It was easy to read and interesting, and I loved the idea of the envelopes. Each envelope would mean another country, and another adventure! Every place she went was exotic (for someone who doesn't live in Europe) and the descriptions were so amazing that you felt as if you're traveling too.

But I wished Ginny would have been more interesting. She was really naive and unadventurous, and sometimes she was kind of boring. If I was in her situation, I'd have been more excited! Her trip was amazing and she met lots of people, like Keith the hot guy, or the crazy Australians.

Overall, I enjoyed 13 Little Blue Envelopes. It was fun and as soon as I ended it I felt like going on vacations! Definitely I'll read the sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope, which is going to be release May 10th, 2011.


September 29, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday # 20 - Mostly Good Girls


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick:



Summary from Goodreads.com
The higher you aim, the farther you fall…. It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and making Scott Walsh fall in love with her. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, Scott Walsh’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie. When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set things right between them. Westfield girls are trained for success—but how can Violet keep her junior year from being one huge epic fail?
Leila Sales
October 5th 2010 by Simon Pulse
Hardcover, 288 pages
Amazon

I had read great reviews about this book, so now I really want to read it ;)

September 27, 2010

Book-Trailer: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

When I was a little girl, I watched E.T. with my sister. I hate it! I was so scared! And my sister was so mean with me, she traumatized me. For a couple of years I couldn't even heard the word UFO because I was shaking.

Then I watched a whole series in the History Channel about aliens, and bum, I'm not scared anymore. Still, when people people say E.T. is cute, and I just though -Really, cute? Come on!-

Anyway, now I want to read about aliens and I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore seems to be the perfect book to start!


September 26, 2010

In My Mailbox #14

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted @ The Story Siren

Best IMM ever!!! Why? Because, finally, my Kindle arrived :)

WON / GIFT:


The Season of Risks: An Ethical Vampire Novel by Susan Hubbard

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation


NETGALLEY:



My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star by Joyce Raskin, Carol Chu (Illustrator) - no image -

The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder

Rage (Horsemen of the Apocalypse #2) by Jackie Morse Kessl

September 23, 2010

Review: The Body Finder (The Body Finder #1) by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #1
Release Date: March 1st 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 336
ISBN: 0061779814 (ISBN13: 9780061779817)
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.
Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.
Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.
Violet is a teenager with a creepy "gift". She can hear echoes the dead people, the ones who died murdered, leave. And she also sense the killers, since the echoes attach to them like an imprint. When several girls are murdered, and the police have no clues, Violet is only one who can find the killer.

I read this book on my computer (still waiting for my Kindle to arrive) and even when my eyes begin to suffer, I didn't stop reading. Violet is one of my favorite characters, because she's normal expect for her gift. She loves her family, her friends, and her major worry is Jay, her best-friend. She tries to live with her gift the best she can, but she knows she can't ignore it. She's smart, and yes, she make mistakes as any other 16 year old, but I didn't think she was dumb or exaggerated.

And I couldn't help but fall in love with Jay too. He's stubborn and sometimes controlling, but he has a sweet side. It's the perfect boyfriend combination. He's more mature that Violet, and worries about her safety, but he's also a little naughty, always teasing her.

The writing is great, not too fast but not slow. The changes from Violet's pov to the killer's pov were  interesting, because I knew what each of them were thinking.

I wasn't expecting so much mystery but was very surprised to find a lot. I never figured out who the killer was (until the end, of course) and there were surprises. I loved this, not knowing what was going to happen and always feeling at the edge.

And it was such a good thing, at least for me, that there weren't details about the murders. Just the kidnapings. It made it lighter and easier to read.

Overall, I couldn't find anything wrong with The Body Finder. I love it, it's original and I won't forget about the characters. I can't wait to read the next book, Desires of the Dead.

P.S.: Don't trust strangers!

Rating:

More about this book at www.kimberlyderting.com | Goodreads | Amazon

September 22, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday # 19 ~ Me, Myself, and Why? (Cadence Jones, #1)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick:


Summary from Goodreads.com
Sweet and innocent with a twist of girl-next-door, Cadence Jones is not your typical girl and certainly not your typical FBI agent. Just ask her sisters, Shiro and Adrienne. (Wait. . .best if you don’t ask Adrienne anything.) But it’s her special “talent” which makes Cadence so valuable to the FBI and it never comes in more handy than when she and her partner, George, get tagged to bring down the Threefer Killer. A serial killer who inexplicably likes to kill in threes, leave behind inexplicable newspaper clippings, and not one shred of decent forensic evidence, soon starts leaving messages that seem to be just for Cadence and her sisters. Could it be that this killer knows all about Cadence’s special “talent”? In the meantime, love blooms in the most unexpected place when Cadence meets her best friend’s gorgeous brother who is in town visiting—and she discovers that he knows her secret too! When attraction burns hot between them her best friend isn’t thrilled with the romantic development and this time Cadence just might agree!

From New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson comes an outrageously funny novel about a highly unconventional FBI agent, a rather odd serial killer, a best friend on the edge, a gorgeous baker. . .and oh, yeah, love.

Suddenly Cadence finds her unbalanced life turned even more upside down as she tries to date a baker who wants to get in her heart and in her bed, dodge a pesky psychiatrist, keep a leash on her sociopath partner, while trying to catch a serial killer who’s now fixated on her.

Some days it’s not even worth getting up in the morning. . .
MaryJanice Davidson
September 28th 2010 by St. Martin's Press
Hardcover, 368 pages
Amazon

September 21, 2010

Book-Trailer: JANE by April Lindner

I loved Jane Eyre so I want to read JANE by April Lindner and see if it has the same effect on me. I'm not sure about the rock star...but still sounds awesome!

September 20, 2010

Book Review: Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James
Beautiful Malice
Author: Rebecca James
Release Date: July 1st 2010
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Age: Young Adult
So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed?
Following a terrible tragedy that leaves her once-perfect family shattered, Katherine Patterson moves to a new city, starts at a new school, and looks forward to a new life of quiet anonymity.
But when Katherine meets the gregarious and beautiful Alice Parrie her resolution to live a solitary life becomes difficult. Katherine is unable resist the flattering attention that Alice pays her and is so charmed by Alice’s contagious enthusiasm that the two girls soon become firm friends. Alice’s joie de vivre is transformative; it helps Katherine forget her painful past and slowly, tentatively, Katherine allows herself to start enjoying life again.
But being friends with Alice is complicated – and as Katherine gets to know her better she discovers that although Alice can be charming and generous she can also be selfish and egocentric. Sometimes, even, Alice is cruel.
And when Katherine starts to wonder if Alice is really the kind of person she wants as a friend, she discovers something else about Alice - she doesn’t like being cast off.
Katherine is a 17 years old girl who used to think only about her boyfriend and parties...until the day of her younger sister's death. She move out of her town, and now she's quite and wants to be alone.

But then she meets Alice and everything changes. She's so beautiful, popular and interesting, that they become friends very quickly. They are close and Katherine, slowly, starts to think of Alice as her best friend. She even shared her most deep secret...what  happened the day her sister died. But Alice  is mean, and sometimes acts like crazy. She hurts people for fun, and when Katherine decides she doesn't want to be friends with her, things start to get ugly.

The writing and the characters were amazing. I couldn't stop reading, and I felt as if Katherine was real, talking to me, telling me her story. I felt sad and angry for her, it was unfair. But life is unfair, and if she's teaching us something is that sometimes life is too hard, but you have to keep living.

And Alice is scary. She has some serious problems, besides being mean. I would freak out if she would start to follow me, threating me, calling my parents...It's scary because it's real. People sometimes acts like this, trying to scare you, hurt you or just bother you. You can't go anywhere because she's there, you have to turn off your phone, move out.

Sometimes sad, creepy, and shocking; it's a very intense story. At the first chapters you don't know what happened except that Rachel, Katherine's sister, is death. But then the story unfolds and in every chapter you learn something new. The story jumps from the present to the past and vice versa, so you know what's going to happen but you don't know how or why.

Overall, Beautiful Malice was amazing and I think you should definitely read it!

 

September 19, 2010

In My Mailbox #13

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted @ The Story Siren

I'm very happy...but also worried. My TBR list is growing more every week! I guess I just have to read more, hehe.


WON:

WINNER of The Intern by Jess C Scott!

Hey everyone! Sorry I take so long to annuonce the winner of THE INTERN by Jess C Scott (ebook), but here I am!

Anyway, random.org says the winner is...

@Adidaswbm !!
Wow thanks for the interview- the series sounds like a great one! My favorite type of music is pop!
+1 Comment on my review of The Intern by Jess C Scott.

Congrats! I already send an email to the author with your e-mail address so she should be in touch with you soon.

Didn't win? Don't worry, you can buy the book here.

Thanks to all of you who read the interview and participate on the giveaway :)

September 18, 2010

Review: The Accidental Werewolf (Accidental Friends #1) by Dakota Cassidy

Title: The Accidental Werewolf
Author: Dakota Cassidy
Series: Accidental Friends, #1
Release Date: February 5th, 2008
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Pages: 352
ISBN: 0425219305 (ISBN13: 9780425219300)
Age: Adult
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
When Marty Andrews gets bitten by a mangy mutt while walking her teacup poodle, her blond hair darkens, the hair on her legs starts growing at an alarming rate, and her mood swings put her dream job as a sales rep for Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics in serious jeopardy. Then a drool-worthy man shows up at her door claiming that he accidentally bit Marty. And since he's a werewolf, she is now, too. Thinking Keegan Flaherty is clearly insane, Marty refuses to believe a word until a kidnapping makes her realize there's more at stake than just her highlights. And she must put her out-of-control life in the hands of the man who makes her blood run wild in more ways than one...
If you're looking for a light and funny paranormal romance story, this is your book!

Marty is 30, selling Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics door to door. She's workaholic and "happy". Her life is just about color-wheels and her poodle, Muffin. But then something weird happens, a dog - a big dog- bite her! And that's it. Her life (and her color-wheel) is changed and she isn't ready for that.

Marty is sooo funny. OMG, I was laughing all the time with her. She didn't want to accept that her body changes weren't "normal"....nobody grows more hair in her legs because of a dog-bite! She's successful, which I liked, and she doesn't need anyone. Except that when she meet Keenan, in a human form, she just can't keep her hands off him.

Ok...Keegan is hot. Very hot! He is the typical alpha-male, but with a very sweet side. He was so cute when dealing with Muffin, the poodle princess. He's really charming when he wants to be. Sometimes I didn't like his alpha personality, he just wanted Marty to do what he said and no buts. Of course Marty is very independent...so you can have an idea of where this is going.

The plot: werewolf bite, then turning into one, isn't exactly original, but the author manages to make it interesting with all the pack's secrets and Keegan's family. Besides the werewolf plot, there is another one including Marty and her "family" which I wasn't expecting but liked it.

It has a predictable happy ending, but it was extremely entertaining to read it and I never stopped laughing. The writing was light, and I felt as if the characters were real. They make mistakes, have strong personalities and talked as any of us.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who needs to laugh.

P.S.: This book does contain some explicit language and sexual material.

Rating:

More about this book at www.dakotacassidy.net | Goodreads | Amazon

September 17, 2010

News: Halloween is coming! (updated!)

Next month is Halloween!! :D And some blogs are going to have amazing events....


YA Books Reviewed is having a Halloween Read-A-Thon! I already joined, and I'm going to host a mini challenge too. For this Read-A-Thon you just have to read Halloween themed stuff. Not necessarily with the day of Halloween, or even the month. None of that (unless you want to). What I am thinking is examples like this: vampires, ghosts, witches, werewolves, shifters, immortals, urban legends, zombies, anything horror or paranormal related.


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WORD for Teens is having a celebration called Book Spooks, running from October 17 to October 31 that surrounds a love of all things book and all things Halloween. Includes feature days, some fun activities, book features, and some fantastic giveaways.


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From the Shadows is celebrating Halloween by hosting numerous giveaways with a month-long Grand Giveaway ending October 31st. Also, they will have fabulous guest authors who will be sharing with us tales of chilling horror, humorous haunts, and passionate paranormal romance. Thirty-one days of paranormal fun!

Read more here

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Read All Over Reviews is celebrating with an event called ”31 Days of Halloween”, and she is inviting Bloggers, Authors and Publishers to participate.

Read more here

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Book Chick City will be reviewing lots of books from many different genres - as long as the book contains a paranormal/supernatural element -. Also there will be author guest posts, interviews, giveaways, and the GHOSTLY GIVEAWAY BONANZA, which will be posted on the 31st...Halloween itself!