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~ A Young Adult and Fantasy Book Blog ~

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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Hobbit is one of the greatest fantasy sagas of all time, a classic that has captivated generations of readers and is now an eagerly anticipated film by Peter Jackson, Academy Award–winning director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

When Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves embark upon a dangerous quest to reclaim the hoard of gold stolen from them by the evil dragon Smaug, Gandalf the wizard suggests an unlikely accomplice: Bilbo Baggins, an unassuming Hobbit dwelling in peaceful Hobbiton.

Along the way, the company faces trolls, goblins, giant spiders, and worse. But as they journey from the terrors of Mirkwood to the wonders of Rivendell and beyond, Bilbo will find that there is more to him than anyone—himself included—ever dreamed. Unexpected qualities of courage and cunning, and a love of adventure, propel Bilbo toward his great destiny . . . a destiny that waits in the dark caverns beneath the Misty Mountains, where a twisted creature known as Gollum jealously guards a precious magic ring.
This is a double-review for The Hobbit (the book) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (the movie). I have to admit that I watched the movie first before I read the book (I listened to The Hobbit audiobook once but didn't understand the whole book since I got distracted literally every two seconds).

Personally, I actually liked the movie adaptation better than the book. I suspect this is because the movie was made such that it appeals to people of every age. As The Hobbit is technically a children book, it's impossible not to give this masterpiece a five-star because the lessons that you can get out of it are really powerful and wonderful.

The Hobbit, the movie for me struggled to remain faithful to the original book while maintaining the bad-assness and the emotional depth as seen and felt in The Lord of the Rings films (expectations, people haz it).I did get bored a few times especially during the first hour!

[SPOILERS, SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!]

What I liked about the movie;

- The part where the dwarves unexpectedly intruded into Bilbo's house. Bilbo was more polite in the book but I think I prefer the grumpy Bilbo in the movie. I'd feel equally as annoyed if a random bunch of strangers raided my pantry!

- Bilbo only agreed to come along with Thorin and his companions after they all left the hobbit hole so it can be said that he is the only person responsible for that decision. In the book, Bilbo went along half-heartedly after Gandalf personally persuaded him.

- The handkerchief scene!

- Thorin. Of course Thorin received greater exposure in the movie than in the book. I liked how he was portrayed as a tormented character. We get to see a more emotional and a more respectable version of Thorin.

- The goal of the journey itself. This line;
Thorin Oakenshield: Why did you come back?
Bilbo Baggins: Well, you were right. I do miss my home. I miss my bed and my hearth. But you lot... you haven't got a home. And I'm gonna help you get it back, if I can.
...almost made me weep for the dwarves. In the book, the journey was for me very material-orientated.

- Azog the Defiler. Without his character, I wouldn't feel for Thorin this much.

- Bilbo himself! Contrary to in the book, the Bilbo in the movie is more resourceful. He tricked the Trolls and saved Thorin from Azog.

- Kili.

No explanation needed. I swear I'm going to cry once I saw the third movie.

- The trolls. They weren't as volatile as in the book. I particularly liked the part where one of the trolls pointed out to Gandalf and asked, 'can we eat him too?'.

- Gandalf. He is weaker in the movie and I liked how less dependent Bilbo and the dwarves were to him considering Gandalf is expected to dissapear in the last third of the book.
Bilbo Baggins: [asking Gandalf about Radagast] Is he a very great wizard, or is he more like you?

- Radagast
Radagast: I'll draw them off.
Gandalf: These are goblin wargs. They'll outrun you.
Radagast: These are Rhosgobel rabbits. I'd like to see them try.

- The Necromancer. With his mention, it's clearer how The Hobbit is linked to the LOTR trilogy

What I disliked about the movie;

- The scene where Bilbo first met Gandalf was awkward LOL. While this part is portrayed as very similar as in the book, I felt that the scene should be more condensed.

- If I remember correctly, the Great Eagles don't actually talk. So when they dropped Thorin and the rest, still a long way from The Lonely Mountain, I questioned why didn't they choose to drop them as far as they can! They are eagles, right? Only in the book, I found the answer; The Eagles are afraid of arrows from the people on the land who could mistaken them for birds seeking to prey on their livestock.

- The scene in Gollum's cave. I really liked this part in the book although it was longer with more riddles! But somehow, in the movie, it felt draggy. But I appreciated the early scene where Gollum was shown to actually eat a goblin! Gross! Now I know how twisted Gollum really is.

I'm not going to elaborate these points since I'd like to compare them with the subsequent films first.

What I liked about the book
- The illustrations.
- Breun.
- Bilbo's transition.
- The Archer.
- Bilbo's conversation with Smaug.
- The ending.
- Bombur. Although I'm expecting to be annoyed by him once I saw the Mirkwood scene on screen.

What I disliked about the book;
- How Smaug meets his end.
- Lack of female characters! Saying this, in the end I strongly think that there's not one thing I'll change about this book (hence, the five star). But when I finished the book, there's a tiny bit of me who longed for characters like Eowyn but I was satisfied with the book nonetheless.

Sweet baby penguins! A five-star.
View all my reviews


The Grimm Prequels - the Prequels to the highly anticipated Snow White Sorrow!

The Grimm Prequels 1-6, and The Grimm Prequels 7-10 will both be for 0.99 on the 23rd and 24th of January 2013

The Grimm Prequels 1-6 is an Amazon.com top 100 bestseller

The Grimm Diaries Prequels volume 7- 10 includes:
Once Beauty Twice Beast
Moon & Madly
Rumpelstein
Jawigi

Book Details:

Grimm Diaries Prequels 7 - 10 by Cameron Jace

Expected publication: Jan 16, 2013
What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong? 
Warning: these Grimm Prequels are like snap shots of a magical land you're about to visit soon. I like to think of them as poisoned apples. Once you taste them, you will never see fairy tales in the same light again.
This Grimm Diaries Prequels are a number of short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. The diaries are more of teasers for the upcoming series: The Grimm Diaries, allowing you to get a glimpse of what to expect of the series. The 6 diaries are told by The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil, Prince Charming, and Alice Grimm
The first book in the Series will be out in February 2013, called SNOW WHITE SORROW. 

Series Description: 

The Grimm Diaries are pages written in a Book of Sand, where each fairy tale character confessed the true stories once altered by the Brothers Grimm two centuries ago. To keep the truth about fairy tales hidden, the Brothers Grimm buried the characters in their dreams to never wake up again. But the curse is broken now, and the characters are allowed to wake up every one hundred years. They intend to tell the truth about really happened, and about an untold cosmic conflict between fairy tale characters.


Goodreads link:

Grimm Diaries 1-6
What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong?



Warning: these Grimm Prequels are like snap shots of a magical land you're about to visit soon. I like to think of them as poisoned apples. Once you taste them, you will never see fairy tales in the same light again.



This Grimm Diaries Prequels are a number of short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. The diaries are more of teasers for the upcoming series: The Grimm Diaries, allowing you to get a glimpse of what to expect of the series. The 6 diaries are told by The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil, Prince Charming, and Alice Grimm 

The first book in the Series will be out in February 2013, called SNOW WHITE SORROW.



Series Description:
The Grimm Diaries are pages written in a Book of Sand, where each fairy tale character confessed the true stories once altered by the Brothers Grimm two centuries ago. To keep the truth about fairy tales hidden, the Brothers Grimm buried the characters in their dreams to never wake up again. But the curse is broken now, and the characters are allowed to wake up every one hundred years. They intend to tell the truth about really happened, and about an untold cosmic conflict between fairy tale characters.


Goodreads link:

Snow White Sorrow

Expected publication: February 2013 by Akmal Eldin Farouk Ali Shebl

Sixteen year old Loki Blackstar is no Prince Charming. His mother is a ghost. His only friend is a red Cadillac that talks to him through the radio. He looks like an Angel but acts like jerk. No wonder he has been banned from Heaven, which is the least of his troubles. Loki needs a job to pay for school and support himself.Still, Loki has a rare gift: He is a Dreamhunter. One of the few in the world who can hunt and kill immortal demons in their dreams so they never wake up again.When Loki is sent to kill a sixteen-year-old vampire girl the locals call Snow White Sorrow, he is pulled into a magical but dangerous world. The locals believe the monster to be Snow White.The real Snow White… living in the ruins of an ancient castle in a small town. She is described as horribly beautiful, terrifyingly enchanting, and wickedly lovely.What he finds instead is a beautiful monster girl filled with rage and hurt, who has an epic untold story to tell of things such like why the Brothers Grimm altered the fairy tale, who the Evil Queen really is, where the mirror came from, and who possessed it.Snow White has killed every person who has dared come near the castle where she once lived with the queen. Mysteriously, she lets Loki live, and whispers two words in his ears; two words that will change his life forever
Goodreads link:

Author Bio:

Cameron Jace: Wonderlander, Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma, & totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little monsters
I write young adult paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and science fiction mostly. The Grimm Diaries series is a seven book saga that deals with retellings of fairy tales from a young adult POV – it connects most of the fairy tales together and claims to be the truth about fairy tales.
I live in San Fransisco and seriously think circles are way cooler than triangles.
Giveaway:
  • The Grimm Prequels 1-6 & the Grimm Prequels 7-10 :) 
  • PLUS the first reader who follows Cameron Jace's facebook page will get the first release date of Snow White Sorrow when it will be for 0.99 for one day!
Rafflecopter Code:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b7f63683/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

or go here and grab the code yourself:

Buy Link (Grimm Diaries Prequels 1-6):

Buy Link (Grimm Diaries Prequels 7-10):

Links to the both books on amazon.co.uk:

The Grimm Prequels 1-6 

The Grimm Prequels 7-10

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

PARTY.



How often do you find a book which terrified the shit out of you and made you cry, really cry, like really ugly cry? If you know other books with these criteria, puh-lease recommend them to me! Because man, my heart is ready to beat a hundred times faster and gets broken again for a book as amazing as this!

In Girl of Nightmares, following the departure of Anna to Hell (because she needs to drag Obeahman's butt away before he murders Cas and his sidekicks), Cas is having trouble coping with the loss of Anna. Worse, he starts seeing gruesome image of Anna being tortured and mutilated regardless if he is awake or asleep. Kendare Blake dedicated about a quarter of this book just for the part where Anna is haunting Cas. Although we already know this from the blurb and usually I detest this because why would you spent about a hundred of pages for something we already know from the blurb, in Girl of Nightmares' case, it works. We get to know a different facade to Cas, I feel for Cas, I feel his loss, his desperation and his longing for Anna. And remember Cas is this butt-kicking ghost hunter! In wrong hands, I believe Cas would sound like Richard Gere, but hell yeah, Blake truly knows how to handle this intricate characterization because he is still the badass Cas I always knew.

Once Cas has some ideas as to how to find Anna, the story stalls a bit but that didn't make me stop reading. During this short time-out, we also get a valuable insights into Carmel and Thomas relationship which was cute. I also liked how Blake dropped a few hints and made me wonder if a couple of characters are the antagonists.

The biggest highlight of the book is definitely the Suicide Forest part. It was scary as hell and I IMMEDIATELY regretted my decision to read this book at night. Shit, I wish I can erase my memory of this scene. I'm not sure if I'm able to walk into ANY forest ever again.

THE ENDING! I won't lie, I was hoping for this kind of ending for Hereafter (yes, I wish this was a standalone). The rougher and more brutal tone of Anna Dressed in Blood didn't convinced me if Girl of Nightmares is deserving of such ending.

*Chuckles*

I surrender to your wicked writing skills, Kendare Blake. This series deserves such ending and more. Much more. I had to repeatedly read the same two pages in denial, and when I came to my senses, as you already know...


As always, I'm really suck at writing a positive review. But trust me, Girl of Nightmares is much better than Anna Dressed in Blood.
Somehow.
I'm not sure how my body was able to absorb this much awesomeness.

Sweet baby penguins! A 5-star!
View all my reviews


The Forgotten Ones

Author: Laura Howard
Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Expected release date: May 15, 2013
Age Group: New Adult
Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney 



Book Description:

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more. 


When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.



Share on Facebook and/or Twitter and you could win a $50 Amazon (or B&N) Gift card!



Title: Scarlet Woods
Author: Brooke Passmore
Publisher:  Self Published

Past, future, and love all exist in the door through time.
Modern and independent seventeen year old Morgan Westbrook thought she had seen all there was to her home town of Scarlet, Georgia, but one day while walking in the woods behind her house she discovers a mysterious door masked behind the trees. After admiring the door’s timeless beauty she walks through its entrance to venture into more woods, but what she doesn’t know is that the door is a gateway through time that takes her back to the year 1863 during the days of the Civil War in Scarlet.
Without knowing that she had traveled back in time, she stumbles upon Danny Carson, an attractive young man who is appalled to see that Morgan is wearing skimpy modern clothes instead of a nineteenth century dress. Although they find each other completely different than anyone they’ve ever known, they cannot help but feel drawn to one another. After spending time in another century, she discovers that she's time traveled back to the year 1863 and that the door took her there. For months she and Danny journey back and forth through the door to experience the joys of traveling to both of their centuries. When dilemmas of unwanted marriage, slavery, and war are thrown at them, they must face the perils that time travel has delivered them in both the future and the past.

Buy Links:


Media Links:

About Brooke Passmore:

I live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and am a 22 year old young woman who probably will never fully grow up. As a kid I played with Polly Pockets, swam in my swimming pool practically every day during the summer, and went on vacations to Disney World with my family (favorite days of my life). I loved telling stories as a kid by playing with my Polly’s and dressing up like princesses with my friends. Eventually everything that went on in my busy imagination I wrote down on paper in the late hours of the night.
When I was in sixth grade I moved into a new house with woods directly behind my backyard. I’d walk about the woods and loved trampling through the creek or getting lost in the trees. These trips through the woods gave me my inspiration for my book trilogy Scarlet Woods. My main character in my book is Morgan who lives in a house where the woods are right behind her backyard. My love for trees and anything woodsy definitely shows in my book and I hope I painted a pretty picture in readers’ heads about what Scarlet Woods looks like.
My favorite candies are Skittles and M&M’s. I put ketchup on practically anything with meat (even with chicken quesadillas). I’m a great fan of Florence and the Machine, The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Birdie, and recently The Civil Wars. My favorite books are The Hunger Games, Shiver, and Wither. My favorite movies are Titanic and Gone with the Wind. The Vampire Diaries is the wonderful TV show I’m obsessed with (I’m a Delena lover!!). I hate ads on youtube that I repeatedly have to skip every single time I want to listen to the newest song from Glee. I love to smile, laugh, and purposefully sing loud and off key whenever my brother is around just to pester him. I have a cat named Phoebe who we named after Phoebe from Friends, a yorkie named Coco who we named because he likes to eat Cocoa Puffs, and a shih tzu maltese we named Indy after Indiana Jones. My favorite princess is Cinderella but I think my personality is a tie between Ariel and Belle so they’re all my ultimate faves. If I could choose a century to time travel to I’d probably choose the Victorian age, the roaring 20’s, the 1950’s, or the 1940’s. I think the Victorian age and the 1940’s were probably the most romantic eras in history and the 20’s and 50’s would probably the most fun! 

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

New review this week:
Clicking the cover will bring to to my review


Books haul this week:

Library
I don't know what to feel but somehow almost all the books I had requested from my library were made available for me this week. 

Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2) by Kendare Blake 
I'm currently reading this one and unless something goes terribly wrong I'm pretty sure this will end up as a 5-star read for me. Cas and Anna are just amazing!

Gosh, not sure how long I'll take to finish this one but I'm determined to try it as I never read anything by Libba Bray before.

Rift (Nightshade Prequel, #1) by Andrea Cremer 
I finished with the Nightshade series so I guess I need to read the prequels too to get some sense of closure. But I won't be putting high hopes for this one.

This one really worries me. As much as I love Fantasy books, they either wound up as trophies on my shelf or as another book in my DNF pile. For me, Fantasy books: it's either you got it right or you never got anything right at the first place.

Won
The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
I won this from a giveaway over at Christine Foncesa' blog (check out her books, peeps! She's a wonderful author). I've been 'fasting' Stiefvater for a year (after a dissapointment over Forever) so this year I must get my dose of Stiefvater beautiful writing back again!

That's all for this week. Link me up to your book haul post too!


I have another giveaway running right now so don't forget to participate! Stand a chance to win both;
--One (1) I Am Alive bundle (3 books in 1), and,
--One (1) Grimm prequel pack that includes all six Snow White Sorrow prequels.



Hi peeps! I'm starting school again so things aren't posted as frequent as before (I wish I have a choice but nope :( ). Anyway, the winner for Top Cuddles of 2012 is...


Congratulations Thalia! She has won herself a paperback copy of Level 2!

 I hope the book is as amazing as it sounded like!

I have another giveaway running right now so don't forget to participate! Stand a chance to win both;
--One (1) I Am Alive bundle (3 books in 1), and,
--One (1) Grimm prequel pack that includes all six Snow White Sorrow prequels.



The Essence (The Pledge #2) by Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry 

“Danger, dread, mystery, and romance” (Booklist) continue in the second book of The Pledge trilogy, as Charlie’s reign is under siege from the most unusual of enemies.
At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.
Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.
As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.


 Author Bio: 

Kimberly is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins) and THE PLEDGE trilogy (Simon & Schuster). She lives in the Pacific Northwest, the ideal place to write anything dark or creepy...a gloomy day can set the perfect mood. She lives with her husband and their three beautiful (and often mouthy) children who provide an endless source of inspiration. 
www.kimberlyderting.com


Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

No one is like Daemon Black.
When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.
But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.
After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.
Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

All hail Jennifer L. Armentrout! I'm so glad I continued with Opal. I almost stopped after being sorely disappointed with Onyx.

Being me, getting this far in the series is a huuuuuuge achievement and that speaks volumes about how entertaining Lux series has been so far. The trying-too-hard-to-show-Katy-is-a-hardcore-book-blogger was tiring and borderline annoying though. We got it, alright. People will still buy your books even if the protag is not a book-nerd/obsessed!

Saying that, I wasn't amused with the first half of the book because pretty much nothing was going on apart from recaps and some 'old friends' making a comeback. Okay, I lied. I was actually amused seeing Katy gets all the blames and feels all guilty because ya know, I think she screwed up pretty bad in Onyx. At times, she still goes all Wonder Woman mode but Daemon is there to knock some sense back into her, so yeah, apparently the douche is the better thinker.

Speaking of the douche, DAEMON IS A NEW MAN! I bet many fangirls are totally heads-over-heels with this new version of Daemon and I approve this idea. Daemon is more matured, not overly protective, sensible, reliable and still himself in the same time! How cool is that? Yes, don't worry. His insults jokes are still funny although I can't lie, I laughed more with Obsidian than Opal.

Daemon-Katy steady relationship was very admirable. AND HOW GLAD I WAS WHEN OPAL STAYED AS A YA NOVEL! I know the *ehem* dreaded sex is coming, if not in this book, it will be in the next book. ***Spoiler alert*** It's in this book LOL! And I'm very thankful when the sex is just mentioned instead of being shown! ***Spoiler finished***[It's in this book LOL! And I'm very thankful when the sex is just mentioned instead of being shown! (hide spoiler)]

The secondary characters also sort of grew on me, particularly Dawson. Suicidal energizer bunny? Hah! How sexy is that? Ash and Dee are somehow getting more likeable and Matthew! I wish I know more about him. He seems like a very cool teacher and I bet a handsome one too!

The twists and turns. Honestly, some I would have predicted already but it hardly affects the impact they had on me! The cliffhanger ending! The warning sign was raised even before the book was released so I braced myself for it.

*Confession bear mode*

I actually liked the ending. :/ It was a very powerful one. The emotions...the helplessness...I felt them all. Like, if this scene is translated into a movie, I could totally imagine it'll be in super dramatic slow motion mode.

Jennifer L. Armentrout is really a queen of cliffhangers. :)

So yes, I totally recommend Opal while simultaneously object the idea of you reading Onyx. Hear me, it's okay to miss the second book because all the major events will be highlighted in Opal. It will be as if you never missed Onyx. Trust me, I'm saving you from the heartache.


Me gusta!
View all my reviews

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Cold, fine drops of rain fall softly on my cheeks as I emerge from the darkness of the ship's interior to the gray, overcast sky of the main deck. Pulling my dark pea coat tighter to my body, the wind lifts red tendrils of my hair. I walk slowly to the railing overlooking the water.
I catch my first sight of the Irish coastline; its craggy landscape makes me shiver in dread. I find it difficult to imagine now how the Gancanagh had made this their home for so long without anyone realizing it. The cold, moss-covered edifices practically scream their presence. As I study the shadows between the falling-down stone, I imagine creeping shapes of undead Faeries grasping the rock, waiting for our ship to draw nearer to their position.
Tipping my face up, I let the rain wash over me. It bathes away the frigid sweat of fear that has broken on my brow. "You don't know how fiercely beautiful you are, do you?" A quiet voice behind me asks, causing me to stiffen and fix my eyes on the rocks along the shoreline.



BUY LINKS:


CHARACTER PLAYLISTS


Evie's playlist: Evie

Reed's playlist: Reed


Russell's playlist: Russell


Brennus' playlist: Brennus


AUTHOR BIO:

I live in Michigan with my husband and our two sons. My family is very supportive of my writing. When I’m writing, they often bring me the take-out menu so that I can call and order them dinner. They listen patiently when I talk about my characters like they’re real. They rarely roll their eyes when I tell them I’ll only be a second while I finish writing a chapter…and then they take off their coats. They ask me how the story is going when I surface after living for hours in a world of my own making. They have learned to accept my “writing uniform” consisting of a slightly unflattering pink fleece jacket, t-shirt, and black yoga pants. And they smile at my nerdy bookishness whenever I try to explain urban fantasy to them. In short, they get me, so they are perfect and I am blessed. Please visit me at my website: http://www.amyabartol.com/
FOLLOW AMY:
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
      

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

The last time I did this meme was almost a month ago. Partially, because I'm on vacation. So here're the books I reviewed since the last time. Clicking the covers will bring you to my review.

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Bought
Before you start giving me WTF looks, there's actually a long story behind this haul. My sis called me one day, asking whether I want a box full of books from a thrift shop, she could only recognize Breaking Dawn so the only conclusion I came up with was 'the whole box must've contain a shitload of YA books! Meh. When I dug into the box, there's this collection of random books including 'A Guild To Pregnancy?'. So I ended up choosing these four books only and returned the whole content of the box to my sister so she can sell the rest.

The Host (The Host #1) by Stephenie Meyer
I need to read this solely because many people said it's Meyer's better work and the movie is about to come out.

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
I never actually read any Nicholas Sparks book but I heard how cliche his books generally are. But I did cry watching A Walk to Remember so that's a good start.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
I'm going to desperately search for any form of visual adaptation for this book before I read it. I can never read Classics without watching the movie/TV series first, as the prose usually bored me to tears.

Breaking Dawn (Twilight #4) by Stephenie Meyer
HAHAHAhahahaHAHAHA. Why I do decided to keep it? Actually I appreciate this series. It might be another one of two years before I discovered my passion for YA books if it's not because of Twilight books.

Review Copy
Nameless (Tales of Beauty & Madness #1) by Lili St. Crow
 I'm a sucker for retellings so that explains why I'm so excited for this one. I'm about 20% in and I gotta say, I'm still not amused. The world building is very confusing. Gah! Might try again later.

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Don't forget I Am Alive Giveaway is still running. Stand a chance to win both;
--One (1) I Am Alive bundle (3 books in 1), and,
--One (1) Grimm prequel pack that includes all six Snow White Sorrow prequels.

What books and books-related swag you got this week? Link me up. :)

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