Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is host by Jill over at Breaking the Spine!

My choice this week is Anna And The French Kiss


I've heard AMAZING this about this book and it's suppose to be Epic! I can't wait for this one. Romances are one of my favorite things to read.
 
Release Date: December 2nd
Summary:Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris — until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.
But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt. 


--Danielle

Monday, September 27, 2010

In My Mailbox (20)

20 weeks! WOW, that's a long time and I didn't even do IMM when I started. Anyway here's my excuses for not blogging in the past couple of days...On Saturday I was at band ALL day. We had TWO competitions on one day. And guess what? We won both of them with a 78.225 in the first one and 80.something in the second one. It was a great day, and then on Sunday I was sick :(.

Lame excuses I know but I'm trying this post for today and a review for tomorrow.

IMM is hosted by the Story Siren, but I think EVERYONE knows that.
Here's what I got this week. (It's all from the library)


Thats it! What did you get this week?


Friday, September 24, 2010

Blog Hop and News

Welcome Blog Hoppers! Leave a comment and I'll try my best to hop back over to your blog!

Book Blogger HopBlog Hop Question:
 When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?:

Most of the time I'll use a notecard as my bookmark and as I read I'll write down a few things. Just thoughts about what I like and don't like. Then when I finish the book I'll read over the notes and write my review. If I write a review when I finish the book sometimes I forget how I felt in the beginning.



News:
My 6 months of blogging is coming up! Sure it's not a year but I'm halfway there, so I want to do something fun and exciting! Make sure you keep a look out for that. I would have started planning earlier (my six months in October 11) but I didn't even realize it was so close. it doesn't feel like I've been blogging for that long.

I've emailed a few people and I'm waiting for them to get back to me BUT if everything goes as planned it's going to be EPIC!

--Danielle

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday:

Waiting On Wednesday that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating was created by Jill over at Breaking The Spine.

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.


Aislinn tends the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the faery courts, and in the final conflict, some will win…and some will lose everything.

The exhilarating conclusion to Melissa Marr’s New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

I'm a HUGE fan of the Wicked Lovely series. I've been following them since the first book (Wicked Lovely) came out. It very sad to think about the series ending but I'm very excited to read this. February 22nd can't come fast enough.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Review: Songs For A Teenage Nomad

I actually found time to  write a review! Now I'm going to type up one for Clockwork Angel. Then I'll finish reading Wondrous Strange (which is very good so far). Then I can read Halo!

Songs For A Teenage Nomad
By Kim Culbertson
Amazon
My copy: ARC from publisher
Summary: After living in twelve places in eight years, Calle Smith finds herself in Andreas Bay, California, at the start of ninth grade. Another new home, another new school...Calle knows better than to put down roots. Her song journal keeps her moving to her own soundtrack, bouncing through a world best kept at a distance.


Yet before she knows it, friends creep in-as does an unlikely boy with a secret. Calle is torn over what may be her first chance at love. With all that she's hiding and all that she wants, can she find something lasting beyond music? And will she ever discover why she and her mother have been running in the first place?

Review: Songs For A Teenage Nomad is the story about Calle who moves from town to town as her mom moves from guy to guy. She never stays in one place long enough to become close to anyone. The only thing that stays the same is Calle’s love for music.


While in Andreas Bay as Calle starts her first year of high school and she finally finds a group of people she can actually call friends, the drama kids. Throughout the story Calle helps work backstage during the plays. The friends that she makes were some of my favorite characters. They were exciting, fun and didn’t care what anyone else in their little town thought about them.

 Calle also attracts attention of the boy who seems to have just as many problems as her, Sam. He seems to be the perfect football playing popular guy. Throughout the book Calle isn’t sure what to think of him, and I didn’t either.


Songs For A Teenage Nomad was an addicting and emotional book full of romance and friends. It keeps your attention from the first to the very last page. While the plot was a little predicable I still found myself in tears as Calle was. This is a book I would highly recommend, especially to any music lovers.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

In My Mailbox (19)

I made another video this week. I love making these, so much fun. :)



Rival
The Trust
Illegal
See What I See
Pink
The Education Of Bet

Thats what I got this week, what did you get?

--Danielle

Friday, September 17, 2010

Blog Hop!

I haven't done this in a LONG time, but I have nothing to do today (but read) so I thought I should participate.

Book Blogger Hop

Blog Hop ?:  In honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, let's take time this week to honor our favorite book bloggers and why we love them!


I love to read so many different blogs that it's hard to pick a few favorites. I have the button's on the side for the ones I visit the most often, and I also love the Story Siren. Who doesn't?

Hopefully I'll be able to do this every week again. I miss looking through all the different book blogs. Leave a comment so I can hop over to your blog!

--Danielle

Thursday, September 16, 2010

How To Juggle Life And Reading

Awhile ago I used to do a post every Thursday where I told you what I thought about a topic, like love triangles and books to movies, and ask your opinions but for some reason I stopped. Since I’ve been so busy and haven’t been able to read any books lately (so no reviews) I thought I would try this again. What better topic then juggling life and reading.

You’ve probably notice that I haven’t been doing the best job at it, which is why I’m going to ask everyone how they fit reading in their days. I always read before bed, but I’ve been so tired that I haven’t been able to read much every night. Especially when I have band, which is usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then on Fridays there are football games and Saturdays are usually competitions.

So how do you juggle all of the different things you do with reading? Whether it’s work or school and activities. Do you set a certain time aside to read, or just pick up a book whenever you have a minute?


--Danielle

(Now I’m going to sit down with my book and read till Vampire Diaries comes one and then when it starts I’ll read during the commercials! I need to finish Clockwork Angel and Songs for a Teenage Nomad)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Waiting On Wednesday

I promise to have an actual review up as SOON as possible. I know it's been awhile since I've been able to post one. Well here's my WoW for you to read while I read Songs for a Teenage Nomad (which so far is AMAZING)

This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.



When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.


A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.


While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

I've heard only great things about this book from other bloggers. I can't wait to read it! Angelfire comes out on February 15, 2011 (Which is a day before my birthday!)

--Danielle

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Teaser Tuesday: Songs For A Teenage Nomad

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Right now I’m reading Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson.

Teaser: Outside, drowning out the sound of the gulls, I pull on my head phones--- Jack Johnson's guitar soothing the frenzy of the nerves in my gut--- and begin the eight-block walk to school, buoyed by the cool sea air. I take in the green hills and the small, flat-roofed houses, and spot a flash of ocean as I round the last corner toward the school. It's actually one of the more beautiful places we've landed, and I sigh, wondering how long I'll get to have this view.

pg. 5 and 6

I just started and I"m already loving this book. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a review of Clockwork Angel up.

This is my first full week of school and hopefully I'll have more time to read soon. It's hard with all the school work and band stuff. I actually just found out my marching band is going to be in the PA Thanksgiving Parade. It's not NY but I'm still very excited for it. :)

--Danielle

Sunday, September 12, 2010

In My Mailbox (18)

Hey everyone! I had another long week, and I didn't even get to finish Clockwork Angel yet. So far I'm loving it I just haven't had anytime to read. :(

I did get to the mall this week so I stop by Borders and picked up..

I'm really excited to read this one! It sounds really good and I LOVE the book trailer!








Then for 1.99 I got...

Which also looks really good and it was only 2 dollars!

















What did you get this week?

Friday, September 10, 2010

You Wish (Review)

You Wish

By: Mandy Hubbard
My copy: ARC from publisher
Amazon
Summary:What if all your wishes really came true? Kayla McHenry’s sweet sixteen sucks! Her dad left, her grades dropped, and her BFF is dating the boy Kayla’s secretly loved for years. Blowing out her candles, Kayla thinks: I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin’ do.


Kayla wakes the next day to a life-sized, bright pink
My Little Pony outside her window. Then a year’s supply of gumballs arrives. A boy named Ken with a disturbing resemblance to the doll of the same name stalks her. As the ghosts of Kayla’s wishes-past appear, they take her on a wild ride . . . but they MUST STOP. Because when she was fifteen? She wished Ben Mackenzie would kiss her. And Ben is her best friend’s boyfriend.

Review: Before I start this review I have a confession to make, I always forget to make a wish before I blow out my candles. I can actually only think of one time that I remember making a wish. I was six and I wanted a puppy (I guess that won’t come true now since I just told everyone).

Forgetting to make my birthday wish was the first thing I thought of when I read the summary to You Wish so I thought I should mention it. I’m going to start remembering to make a wish every year ( and a really good one!) just incase this ever happens to me. I know this is fiction and won’t really happen, but you never know. Anyway I really enjoyed reading You Wish. It was funny and addictive. Kayla was very relatable. She just wanted to be different as her best friend wanted to fit in.

I was hooked throughout the whole book waiting for a wish to happen everyday. Most of the wishes were hilarious and I had so much fun reading about them. Another thing I like about the book was the romance. Sure there isn’t much but the guy Kayla liked was actually believable. She actually knew him and he knew her. In so many YA novels the main character is obsessed with a guy she barley knows. So it was nice to see something different.

You wish is a book that I would recommend to everyone. I can’t wait to read more by Mandy Hubbard. Her next book was my Waiting on Wednesday this week. So scroll down and check it out if you want. It looks very good and also very different.

--Danielle

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Don’t Steal Books!

I’m sure you’ve heard about the e-piracy problem by now. The Story Siren (link to post) did a post on this last week, and many authors have talked about it. I’m not going to say too much but everyone should know that it’s WRONG. I just don’t understand how anyone could see a good side to it. An author sat down and wrote a book, most of the time it takes them YEARS to finish. Then you go and steal they’re work.

If you can’t afford to go out and buy every book you want to read, that’s okay! Just go to your local library, and if they don't have the book you want to read then REQUEST IT! The librarians there want to help you, they love to read and see people reading. I’ve requested so many books at my local library. You can also borrow E-BOOKS from many libraries now. So there is no excuse to steal someone’s hard work.

Yes, I know that there are many buttons popping up all over blogs but I still made my own. I love to make things like this. I know it’s not that they're not that good but I had so much fun making them. If you like one of the buttons below you can use the link to post them on your blog or website.

This is an issue that everyone should help to stop. I bet if all the book blogs and authors got together we could really make a difference.
















 
--Danielle

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating was created by Jill over at Breaking The Spine.

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard July 21st 2011

Eighteen year old Lexi Wentworth is cursed. For as long as she can remember, she’s spent every night swimming. If she doesn’t, she’ll regret it—simply walking will be agony, as if she’s stepping on shattered glass. Her body craves the water, demands the water, until she can’t say no.



But it's not the swimming that troubles Lexi. It’s the singing that goes with it.When she turned sixteen, her siren song killed the only boy she's ever loved. Now, she avoids the popular shores of the Pacific in favor of a long forgotten lake up in the mountains, where she can swim and sing in peace, far from the population of her oceanside home.


Until, that is, Cole Mills discovers her lake. He’s new to Lincoln City High, and he doesn’t know about Lexi’s reputation as an ice queen—a reputation she’s carefully cultivated to keep everyone around her safe. He pushes her, talks to her, forces her to dream of what life could be like if she weren’t a siren.


Lexi can’t stop herself from warming to him, from falling for him. Soon, he’s demanding answers, following her to the lake, unknowingly risking his life. How can she keep him safe when the one thing she wants most--to hold him close-- will endanger his life?

I finished You Wish a couple days ago and I'm writing up my review now. I really enjoyed it and Rippled sounds very different. It also sounds REALLY good! I can't wait to read this one. :)

I also have a four day weekend right now, and then my school days will be normal. So posts should start being consistent again.

--Danielle

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Journey To The Past

Journey To The Past: When most people go to the bookstore or library they look at the new releases, but what about all those other books? They deserve some love too. So once a week I write about a slightly older book.


Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650)266-8233
By: Sean Stewart, Jordan Weisman
Published in 2006
Goodreads
Summary:Things weren't so peachy in Cathy's life before Victor broke up with her. Her father died unexpectedly, she's failing school, and her best friend is mad at her. But when Cathy decides to investigate Victor's reasons for ending their relationship, things suddenly go from bad to very, very, very bad as her findings produce more questions than answers. For instance, what does the death of Victor's co-worker, the strange mark that appeared on Cathy's arm, and the surreal behavior of several Chinese elders have to do with it?
Thoughts: I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun reading a book, as I did with this one. As I read I became attached to the characters and the plot, but the best part? This wasn’t just a book it’s a mystery journal. I know this is a complete work of fiction and Cathy doesn’t actually exist but I felt like it was someone’s personal book.


On almost every page you can find doodles, and sketches of characters that Cathy drew. Under the front flap (for hard covers) is a pocket filled with pictures, notes, napkins with writing, and so much more. The phone number, websites, and emails you find actually work. I dare you to call the one in the title!

I loved Cathy’s voice in her journal, she felt so real. I could relate to her very easily. The mystery will have you wondering and guessing the whole time. I read the whole book in one day. Most of the time I was sitting on the floor with the ‘evidence’ around me. Some parts I figured out (but not without putting a lot of thought into it) and some took me completely by surprise.

If you haven’t read this book yet I strongly suggest you do. Then when you’re done there are two more books in the series. I also just found out that there is an I-pod/I-phone app where you can read the book and see all the doodles and 'evidence' come to life. And if you have already read this book leave a comment below! I would love to here what you thought.




P.S. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post an actual review but I have to leave for band practice so I didn't have time to write it up.

Also sometime this week I'm going to be doing a post about e-piracy. I've already made a button and in the post I'll make a link for it if you want to use it on your blog. Here's what it looks like so far...
What do you think?


*just noticed the spelling mistake. . . oops. Picnik doesn't have spell check. I'm fixing that now.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

In My Mailbox (17)

Hey everyone! I know I didn't post to much this week, and I'm sorry about that. I just started school again (Sophomore yay!) So I was stressed out all week, hopefully I'll get into a good school, homework, band, and reading schedule sometime soon.

This week I decided to make a video (not a vlog). I didn't get to much but it was enough to make a video. I miss making these, hopefully I can get a good video editing system soon so they can be more fun.



I love this song, I actually have been playing it over and over again while I'm at the computer. You can find the music video for it here.

Bought:
How I Found the Perfect Dress (This one sounds really interesting)
The Debs
The Insiders
Paper Towns (This is the first book by John Green that I'm going to read)
Library:
Hearts at Stake

They just put a discount book store at the outlets really close to my house! I'm really excited because this is the first book store in my town! They don't sell any of the new releases though, so I'll still have to drive 30 minutes to BN or Borders.

Plans for this week:
1) Write and post a Journey to the Past
2) Write and post review of You Wish
3)  Finish reading Clockwork Angel (and then write a review)
4) Read Songs for A Teenage Nomade (& review)
5) Start Wondrous Strange

--Danielle

Friday, September 3, 2010

Immortal Beloved (review)

Immortal Beloved
(ARC from publisher)
By: Cate Tiernan
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Summary: New name, new town, new life. Nastasya has done it too often to count. And there’s no end in sight. Nothing ever really ends... when you’re immortal. But this time is different: Nastasya knows that this new town must hold her salvation—or her death.

Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human,she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead

 Review: I’m a huge fan of Cate Tiernan so I’ve been looking forward to Immortal Beloved for awhile now. I was so excited to be able to read it early. The book was definitely different then I thought it was going to be, the cover and summary are slightly misleading. The story was darker then it showed, but after reading the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan I should have expected that.

At times the story moved slowly and not too much happened, but I loved every second. I never got bored even at the slower parts probably because there was so much suspense. You know Nastasya has a secret and that someone is out to get her. It kept me attached to the story and I only put the book down to eat and sleep.

Nastasya’s relationship with Reyn was so intoxicating. The secret behind Reyn plays a big part in the story so I won’t say much. Nastasya herself was an interesting character. I liked her throughout the whole book, and I loved her voice. She was sarcastic and kept me laughing. It added some relief from the suspense. Throughout the story there was flashbacks, I really enjoyed reading about Nastasya during different times. Seeing how she changed and how she hasn’t. They also answered many of the questions that you have about her past.

I would recommend Immortal Beloved to anyone (13+) that loves paranormal mysteries and romance. You will get sucked into the storyline, and keep flipping the pages until you finish. I can’t wait for the next two books in the trilogy; I really want to know what happens next to Nasty and Reyn.

--Danielle

P.S. I just wanted to let you know I have picked a winner for my 100 followers contest, and I would have posted about it but she didn't want her name anounced. If you didn't win keep an eye out for some more giveaways coming soon!

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