tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85209259105949647122024-03-14T18:32:58.040+10:30**QWERTY**~ A Young Adult and Fantasy Book Blog ~Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.comBlogger226125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-1081578469927064232015-08-02T18:04:00.000+09:302015-08-02T18:04:04.557+09:30ARC Review: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25563448-pretty-baby">Pretty Baby</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7392948.Mary_Kubica">Mary Kubica</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1351325458">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
Buy from: <a href="http://www.harlequinbooks.com.au/product/9780857994431">Harlequin AUS website</a><br />
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A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica<br />She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head…<br />Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.<br />Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated</blockquote>
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<em>An Advance Reading Copy was provided by Harlequin MIRA Australia in exchange for an honest review.</em></div>
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If I were to rate Pretty Baby based on the efforts alone, this would be a solid 5-stars read. No one can say Mary Kubica did not try hard enough. She did. And it showed. Hence I'm genuinely gutted that I didn't love this book more. The book is lacking on the execution and the enjoyment factor. </div>
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I'm so...unenthusiastic about this book. Which makes it so hard to write a review on. I felt like Pretty Baby tried too hard to be different and genre-bending. Unfortunately, we get a final product that is not quite. Not quite thriller. Not quite mystery. Not quite drama.</div>
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In comparison to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Dark Places (comparison is inevitable because well, just look at the cover), Kubica's writing is relatively easier to stomach (haha!) but the issues dealt in this book are disturbing all the same.</div>
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I thought the beginning was very well done. Although it initially reads from two totally opposite point of views (Heidi's and Chris'), I could relate to them both which in turns questioned my own morality and choices if I were in their position. So that was really interesting. Enters Willow's point of view and it was like reading a different book altogether. No date/time stamp follows the start of each chapter so it took me awhile to orientate myself - that Willow's POV is told sometimes in the future (with of course, flashbacks thrown in as well because why not?). Contrary to most psychological thrillers which reveal early on that someone's missing/killed/dead/became amnesiac, Pretty Baby definitely takes its sweet time to tell the readers what actually had happened. So for me, the intrigue is lost and I was left hanging for so long that I contemplated DNF-ing this book so many times.</div>
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And that, ladies and gentlemen, is not a good sign for a thriller book.</div>
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Did the ending redeem the whole book? Well, I definitely did not expect the ending, so that's something. I don't know...I was just content with it. I wasn't wowed by it but it satisfied me nonetheless.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 poker faces</td></tr>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-26886824046289647912015-02-15T08:47:00.000+10:302015-02-15T08:49:04.805+10:30Review: Talon (Talon, #1) by Julie Kagawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17331828-talon">Talon</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2995873.Julie_Kagawa">Julie Kagawa</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/980564357">2 of 5 stars</a><br />
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Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.</div>
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Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.</div>
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Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.</div>
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Actual rating 1.5 stars.</div>
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THE WORST JULIE KAGAWA'S BOOK I'VE EVER READ. And I've read eight of her other books.</div>
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I wanted to believe that maybe someone kidnapped her and wrote this book using her name, but when you've read enough Julie Kagawa's, you know it's her when you read the writing...</div>
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I still can't believe a book about dragons can be bad. *sigh*</div>
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One thing I noticed about Kagawa's writing is she doesn't do contemporary setting well. I didn't enjoy reading about Meghan's and Ethan's life before they enters the fey realm. It was so boring and bland.</div>
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Unfortunately this book is pretty much a contemporary with dragons. And I didn't even get enough dragons. There were more about;</div>
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1. Siblings fights - am I supposed to care about Dante? He could be replaced with a talking wall and I still couldn't care less.</div>
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2. Teenage angst - I honestly thought Ember gets rebellious for the first half of the book for no good reasons.</div>
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3. Insta-love - I honestly thought Julie knew better.</div>
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4. Love triangle - I HONESTLY THOUGHT JULIE KNEW BETTER. Meghan, Ash and Puck love triangle is a rarity and is dynamic - how could she possibly thought of throwing another love triangle with much, much weaker characters?</div>
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5. Surfing - YES, I LIVE IN AUSTRALIA AND YES, READING THIS MUCH ABOUT SURFING WAS NOT ENTERTAINING.</div>
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I know I should've DNF-ed it but I couldn't. Because it's a Kagawa book. I read and I read. Hoping that by the end of Part 1 the story would have gone somewhere. Nope. By that point, I was way past halfway mark so I decided to just finish it anyway. And I did. Yes, the story did go somewhere but it was so predictable and formulaic, I even laughed a few times and screamed 'THIS, THIS IS FROM JULIE KAGAWA???'.</div>
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Yeah, it wasn't nice.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two unimpressed faces</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a></div>
Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-13641127748363315762015-01-26T20:43:00.000+10:302015-01-26T20:43:11.074+10:30ARC Review: Red Queen (Red Queen Trilogy #1) by Victoria Aveyard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17878931-red-queen">Red Queen</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7074943.Victoria_Aveyard">Victoria Aveyard</a></div>
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My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1113210373">4 of 5 stars</a></div>
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The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.</div>
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To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.</div>
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Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of</div>
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those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.</div>
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But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?</div>
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<em>An advance reader copy was provided by Hachette Australia Books for review.</em></div>
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Actual rating 3.5 stars.</div>
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Imagine the X-Men as the lords and ladies in the pseudo-medieval period set in a dystopian future. </div>
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Sounds like something you never knew you wanted to read about but now that you know, you want it more than Nutella? Yup, that was me before I received a copy of this book. Sadly, it just didn't deliver.</div>
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In this dystopian world, the society is divided into two castes, the silvers (people with superpowers) and the oppressed reds (regular people). The book centres around Mare, a red who suddenly discovers that she has a unique superpower and how she is made into a pawn in a dangerous ploy for the throne.</div>
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I think my biggest issue with the book is the characters. In a moral sense, I think none of the characters deserves any respects which makes it's hard to pick a side. Understandably, living in a dystopia society like depicted in the story means it's difficult to cling to your moral values because you got to do what you have to do to survive, right? But most of the time, the characters, especially Mare has the option that offers less damage but she chose the less wise, morally-corrupted choice nonetheless. Morally-vague characters are something that I usually enjoy in literature - time and time again I found myself rooting for the antagonists because they are so entertaining. However in Red Queen, the characters make wrong decisions due to their cowardliness and lack of purpose, hence the book felt flat and lost its appeal on me midway through. For a book with just 320 pages, it felt like it has more than 500 pages in my head. </div>
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Luckily I pulled through because that ending worth every second I sat there with my tablet, trying to pry my eyes open and keep reading for the first 80% of the book. I suspected the big twist from miles away but as a plot hole so by the time the true villain was revealed to me, I was pretty shocked nonetheless. And have I mentioned how much I loved the ending? The final showdown has the right amount of action, tension and complexity. Will sell kidneys for the sequel!</div>
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Another aspect that was done quite well was the action and the battle scene. Some of the superpowers seem weak in comparison to the others but the author managed to show that when these superpowers are handled well, they can be deadlier than the obvious strong ones. But I need MOAR! There is simply not enough action to keep this book from being a snoozefest.</div>
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Overall, a pretty solid debut by Victoria Aveyard although I couldn't see myself wanting to pre-order the physical copy of this book anytime soon. :/
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me gusta! 4-stars</td></tr>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-26608741909214913992014-11-30T15:55:00.000+10:302014-11-30T15:55:33.677+10:30ARC Review: Impulse (Submerged Sun, #2) by Vanessa Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22475352-impulse">Impulse</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7349685.Vanessa_Garden">Vanessa Garden</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1117310813">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Buy from: <a href="http://www.harlequinbooks.com.au/product/9781488790379">Harlequin AUS website</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Miranda Sun returns to Marin on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, this time of her own free will, she quickly learns that her worst fears have been realised. The glittering underwater city is not as she had left it, nor too is Marko, the young king who has dominated her thoughts and heart for the last twelve months since leaving Marin.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Miranda, however, has not made the journey to Marin alone, and now must contend with not only Marko’s evil brother Damir but more surprisingly her sister Lauren who has an agenda of her own. Marko’s power begins to wane and with cracks beginning to show in the domed Utopian city, and veiled danger lurking everywhere, she quickly learns that in this dazzling city full of beautiful people she can trust no-one but herself.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If Miranda wants to survive, she must decide between the hardened sensibilities in her head and the hungers of her heart. Will her decision cause more heartache or can she help to save Marko’s throne?</span></blockquote>
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<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A copy was provided by HarlequinTEEN Australia in exchange for an honest review.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In case you haven't noticed, I heavily panned <em>Captivate</em>, book 1 of the <em>Submerged Sun</em> series. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't go near its sequel, <em>Impulse</em>, for obvious reasons. However, I received <em>Impulse</em> together with <em>Captivate</em> and it has such a glorious cover (I mean, come on, look at that cover!), so I thought, why not?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wow, I mean, <em>wow</em>! A sequel that is thousands times better than its intermediate predecessor? Dear Vanessa Garden, I don't know what happened between <em>Captivate</em> and <em>Impulse</em>...but deyyumm gurl, you made me rethink my entire existence. JK! You made me rethink of my 'dropping the series if the first book is no good' policy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think what worked so well in <em>Impulse</em> is the political drama-llama which usually reserved for high fantasy books. In <em>Impulse</em>, we have a small-scale, underwater <em>Game of Thrones</em>. No shit. I didn't know who to trust, who I should loathe, what's their motives etc. In <em>Captivate</em>, I was under the impression that Marin citizen are a bunch of boring, nice people. I didn't expect to see the darker, uglier side of Marin citizen when faced with desperation of wanting to bear children. Even the main and secondary characters whom I thought as very one-dimensional in <em>Captivate</em> such as Sylvia, Anne, Damir, Lily and Lauren have morphed into more complex, layered characters in <em>Impulse</em>. Special honourary mention: Blake - I loved this guy! He's so creepy in the right way! One thing that still bothers me is whether I should hate Lauren or not. I don't know if the author wants me to hate Lauren at first then to like her once I learned her true motive or just continue to hate her because ***spoilers ahead*** her motive is still very ambiguous up until the end of the book. ***spoiler finished***</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, another interesting bit about this book is its undefined genre. It could be a dystopia - organised underwater civilisation but it's not set in the future. It could be a fantasy - because of the mention of a mythical creature and just the general atmosphere of the book, but the creature is yet to be verified to have existed. It could be a sci-fi - hell yeah, alien technology but this bit is also still very much wishy-washy. Honestly, it could be a romance and thriller and mystery book. Unbelievable, isn't it? I saw a lot of people shelving the books from this series under 'mermaid' tag and this confuses the hell out of me. THIS IS NOT TECHNICALLY A MERMAID BOOK. Yeah, there are some mentions of mermaid but mermaid isn't the main thing here, okay. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Okay, here's the thing that made me feel so relieved; the relationship between Miranda and Marko is properly built and developed in this book. No more outlandish, insta-love declarations, no more unnecessary pseudo love triangle. Although, in <em>Impulse</em>, there is a part where I actually held my breath because I felt like another love triangle is coming but this time it's for a good reason. So yeah, I felt myself warming up to Miranda and Marko although towards the end I cringed a bit when Miranda wants to take things too fast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But <em>Impulse</em> still had the same problem as <em>Captivate</em>. The last one third of the book has once again suffered from sketchy plot and it felt like it was dragged forever but ended up at the same point. But contrary to the first book where it's just plunging to the abyss of the deepest hell-hole, this time it was still bearable and readable. I think with better editing, this last part of the book could have been much better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So yeah, <em>Impulse</em> - totally worth </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me gusta! 4-stars.</td></tr>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-73304880798777809302014-11-30T15:46:00.006+10:302014-11-30T15:51:04.718+10:30Review: Captivate (Submerged Sun #1) by Vanessa Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18683518-captivate">Captivate</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7349685.Vanessa_Garden">Vanessa Garden</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1116541782">2 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Buy from: <a href="http://www.harlequinbooks.com.au/product/9781488711282">Harlequin Aus website</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a glittering underwater world, nothing is as it seems...For the past twelve months since her parents’ death, seventeen-year-old Miranda Sun has harboured a dark secret — a secret that has strained the close relationship she once shared with her older sister, Lauren. In an effort to repair this broken bond, Miranda’s grandparents whisk the siblings away on a secluded beach holiday. Except before Miranda gets a chance to confess her life-changing secret, she’s dragged underwater by a mysterious stranger while taking a midnight swim. Awakening days later, Miranda discovers that she’s being held captive in a glittering underwater city by an arrogant young man named Marko...the King of this underwater civilisation.Nineteen-year-old Marko intends to marry Miranda in order to keep his crown from falling into the sinister clutches of his half-brother, Damir. There’s only one problem. Miranda is desperate to return home to right things with her sister and she wants nothing to do with Marko. Trying to secure her freedom, Miranda quickly forms an alliance with Robbie — Marko’s personal guard. However, she soon discovers that even underwater, people are hiding dangerous secrets...</span></blockquote>
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<em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A copy was provided by HarlequinTEEN Australia in exchange for an honest review.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BREATHTAKING UNDERWATWER COVER!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Should've known better, right? To be fair, it wasn't particularly bad, but it was definitely strange and cliché.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The book reminded me a lot of <i>Cruel Beauty</i> by <i>Rosamund Hodge</i> (the 'kidnapping to be made a bride for the king' part) and <i>Renegade</i> by <i>J.A. Souders</i> (the 'underwater city surrounded by dark mysteries' part). Sadly, I did not like this book as much as I liked the two aforementioned books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Captivate</i> doesn't waste time getting to the action. By action, I mean the kidnapping (that sounds so wrong). So, we don't get to know the dynamics of Miranda's relationship with her sister and her grandparents very well. While I appreciate the 'hit the ground rolling' opening, it was hard for me to feel Miranda's desperation to go back home because I wasn't being shown the strength of her family bond. Granted, we were told that Miranda harbours a secret she's been intending to tell her sister, Lauren and she wants to seek her forgiveness, but I think it helps if a brief details of Miranda's relationship with Lauren before their parents died was provided so that the readers can establish an emotional connection with Miranda.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, I was hoping for that so, so much because honestly, I did not like Lauren at all, so if only I could learn something good about her, then I could probably empathise more with Miranda and her wish to be back home. Here's Lauren's quote that irritates me so much;</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mum always used to say I had the metabolism of a racehorse-"With the stumpy body of a Shetland pony", Lauren would add with a smirk.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">WHAT KIND OF OLDER SISTER TALKS TO HER YOUNGER SISTER LIKE THAT? Uh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">***spoilers ahead***<span class="spoilerContainer" style="display: none;">[And let's face it. Their parents death was IMO Lauren's fault. I'm 100% agree that she should have never leave Miranda alone on her birthday. But playing dumb for over a year, letting Miranda feels the guilt and never tries to make amend before Miranda confesses to her is just vain.<br /><br />SERIOUSLY, WHAT KIND OF OLDER SISTER TREATS HER YOUNGER SISTER LIKE THAT? <a class="jsHideSpoiler spoilerAction" href="https://www.blogger.com/null">(hide spoiler)</a>]</span>And let's face it. Their parents death was IMO Lauren's fault. I'm 100% agree that she should have never leave Miranda alone on her birthday. But playing dumb for over a year, letting Miranda feels the guilt and never tries to make amend before Miranda confesses to her is just vain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SERIOUSLY, WHAT KIND OF OLDER SISTER TREATS HER YOUNGER SISTER LIKE THAT?***spoilers finished***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alright, enough about Lauren. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At first, I found Miranda as easy to like. She is cautious and sceptical of everyone she meets in Marin. She doesn't only say she wants to go home, she takes actions - she tries to remember Marin's layout, she plans her next moves, she gets to the good side of people who might help her escape and praise da lord, she doesn't get attracted to ANY male beings in Marin although they are well, kinda hot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">***mild spoilers ahead***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, please explain me what happened from Chapter Twenty and onwards? If the book was sort of 'yeah, okay, maybe' before that, after this chapter the book just takes a sharp dive into the abyss the of the deepest hell-hole. Like, seriously. The book threw me off so badly, I was even wondering if a different author had wrote this last third of the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Miranda suddenly loses her ability to think straight, makes bad decisions after bad decisions. AND SHE LIES. SO.MANY.FREAKING.TIMES.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also, she suddenly gets attracted to both Marko and to some extent, Robbie. Marko is basically the kidnapper for the first two-third of the book, and honestly, I don't think he's making any significant efforts to make Miranda likes her, so yeah, when in Chapter Twenty, they are throwing the love word all around, I was like 'whaaaaaat'?. Only after that that they are beginning to really warming up to each other. Isn't that bizarre?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, they were a few things I noticed that make this book a bit ethically questionable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Stockholm Syndrome is an icky subject. And I don't think the book handles this theme really well. Captivate tries to romanticise kidnapping too much and that doesn't sit very well to me. I remember reading Stolen by Lucy Christopher which kinda romanticises kidnapping as well but in the end, it still hammers down the message that kidnapping is wrong. The fact that the whole city agrees to the kidnapping, that is just disturbing, no matter how desperate you are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. My inner feminism raged when Miranda was kidnapped (of course) and <a class="jsShowSpoiler spoilerAction" href="https://www.blogger.com/null">***spoilers ahead*** </a><span class="spoilerContainer" style="display: none;">[when she was forced to be brought back home. The argument was that it's dangerous for her to stay but giving her a less than one day notice before she will be brought home and denying her plea to stay when she really wants to help is just arrogant. AND HONESTLY! THEY NEVER THINK OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT PROBABLY IT'S THE MEN THAT ARE IMPOTENT? <a class="jsHideSpoiler spoilerAction" href="https://www.blogger.com/null">(hide spoiler)</a>]</span>when she was forced to be brought back home. The argument was that it's dangerous for her to stay but giving her a less than one day notice before she will be brought home and denying her plea to stay when she really wants to help is just arrogant. AND HONESTLY! THEY NEVER THINK OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT PROBABLY IT'S THE MEN THAT ARE IMPOTENT?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. When Stephanie pleads to Miranda for Phillippe's life, Miranda says that Stephanie owes her, that just pissed me off. SAVING SOMEONE'S LIFE WHEN THEY DON'T DESERVE TO DIE DOESN'T MEAN YOU OWE THAT PERSON ANYTHING. And what's up with the 'feeding to the shark' sentence. That is uncivilised for a so called self-sustaining civilisation.***spoilers finished***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. If it's feasible for Marin to trade everything for pearls, I don't understand why it's not feasible to just offer a girl to come WILLINGLY to Marin for diplomatic or charitable reasons. If the girl doesn't like it, then let her go and offer another girl. I'm sure they can sign an agreement or something to keep the secret. There MUST be a girl who would've enjoy living underwater (someone who hates meat and sunlight and has no family for example) instead of ripping a random girl from her family. Ugh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. Fertility dance. I'm not sure if this is ethically questionable. It's just bizarre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, there are a still a few unanswered mysteries and the story could be heading towards a darker path in Book 2. So since I got a copy of Impulse as well, I will be reading the sequel soon.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Two unimpressed faces</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-55275562404345712062014-11-30T15:21:00.001+10:302014-11-30T15:21:53.432+10:30Back From Hiatus<div style="text-align: justify;">
More like I'm back from the dead!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Just kidding! It's been 18 months. </span></span></td></tr>
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Yup. That's bad. That's really bad. But my life was spiralling out of control since mid last year and I didn't have time to look after this blog and for that I deeply apologise.</div>
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What makes me come back?</div>
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Long story short (not trying to be dramatic or anything) but reading basically saved my life. For the past two years I felt like life was moving too fast but not fast enough AND even then, I still couldn't catch up with it. So I had fallen into depression this year and it was just...horrible. But the blessing in disguise is that it allowed me to take a break and to think of what's really important in life, life is not all about achievements, you know, all that jazz. And I remembered I used to like reading so much. Well, I did read a few books within the span of last year and the first six months of this year but time and commitment has always been the issue. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Until mid year this year, Somehow, I've read good books after good books and I slowly feel like I'm alive again (of course, reading is not the only factor that gets me out of my depression, but it has been a major contributor).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I became active on Goodreads again for a few months now but I was not sure if I'm physically capable of reviving this bookblog. I mean, a bookblog is no joke - I don't care what people say, it's actually damn hard to maintain an active bookblog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But even with my inactivity, I received a few invitations for ARC reviews so I thought, why not? But this time I won't be super ambitious like before until the point where it actually became stressful. So yeah, at this point of time, <b>I will probably only post reviews on this site and a occasionally memes. I will no longer post cover reveals, blog tours and regular memes. By all means, if you think Qwerty has turned into something you would no longer like to follow, feel free to unsubscribe. I won't be offended. A little sad, maybe, but it's okay. I understand</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To the new Qwerty!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I want to be more excited but this means I need to re-acquaint myself with HMTL! *gasps*</span></td></tr>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-53389557939337487892013-04-22T16:47:00.000+09:302013-04-22T16:47:00.635+09:30Blitz: Flight by Lindsay Leggett<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Flight by Lindsay Leggett <br />Publication date: April 1st 2013 <br />Genre: YA Science Fiction<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Synopsis:<br />The first rule of survival in the Underground: When you’re outside, keep your eyes on the skies. Ace Harpy Hunter Piper Madden is used to danger, but the death of her brother slams the brakes on her high-torque lifestyle and leaves her broken and confused.<br />On the run from the dictating Elder Corporation, she’s eventually found in the quiet undergound city of Ichton and asked to work for the Corp on contract to quell a new and frightening Harpy threat.<br />Enter the discovery of horrifying Corporation secrets, Harpy attacks, and a new friendship with the strange Asher, and Piper’s days become anything but boring.<br />Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous secret, ad as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.</blockquote>
Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17406619-flight?ac=1">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17406619-flight?ac=1</a><br /><br />Purchase:<br />--Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Flight-ebook/dp/B00BPFHLDS/ref=tmm_kin_title_0">http://www.amazon.ca/Flight-ebook/dp/B00BPFHLDS/ref=tmm_kin_title_0</a><br />--Barnes & Noble: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flight-lindsay-leggett/1114753059?ean=9781482639568&itm=1&usri=9781482639568">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flight-lindsay-leggett/1114753059?ean=9781482639568&itm=1&usri=9781482639568</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Lt0uAc51tk/UXJAWmosx3I/AAAAAAAAB14/1lz1hFcheN8/s1600/Lindsay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Lt0uAc51tk/UXJAWmosx3I/AAAAAAAAB14/1lz1hFcheN8/s1600/Lindsay.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">AUTHOR BIO</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">Nearly every writer struggles to put together information about themselves, perhaps because we’re so used to detailing the lives and ways of others. For the most part I am a writer, editor, photographer, and all-around artist living in the wilds north of Toronto, Ontario. I thrive on the juxtaposition of beauty and grit, enjoy urban crawls, indie everything, and time well-spent in the woods.</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">Author Links:</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><a href="http://burningtreelindsay.wordpress.com/" style="text-align: start;">Website</a><span style="text-align: start;"> / </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6904930.Lindsay_Leggett" style="text-align: start;">Goodreads</a><span style="text-align: start;"> / </span><a href="https://twitter.com/akabins" style="text-align: start;">Twitter</a></div>
Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-16865130090997454102013-04-05T07:40:00.001+10:302013-04-05T07:40:48.332+10:30Review: Point of Retreat (Slammed, #2) by Colleen Hoover <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13496084-point-of-retreat">Point of Retreat</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5430144.Colleen_Hoover">Colleen Hoover</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/577209019">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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Hardships and heartache brought them together…now it will tear them apart.<br />Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.’ </blockquote>
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Actual rating 3.5 stars. <br />
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**Minor spoiler ahead**<br />
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I wish I could've like this book more or at least as much as I did with <em>Slammed</em> but meh, the drama llama was getting tiring <s>or maybe I'm just a douche who despise every second book in the series because I got bored.</s><br />
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I probably would still read anything by <em>Colleen Hoover</em>. She has this amazing talent - it's like anything wrote by this woman would sound deep and meaningful. But I started to notice that her choice of themes is not something I would really like to read about and this frustrates me. A lot.<br />
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I had the same problem with <em>Point of Retreat</em> as I did with <em>Hopeless</em>: I don't understand why sex needs to be hailed as the holy grail of a relationship. Ugh, I wish I don't have to point that out. I'm worried if I don't get my point across, people will misunderstood and given my limited capacity to express my thoughts clearly, I really wish I don't have to. <br />
<br />
But let's have a go anyway. There was so much build up leading to Will and Lake *ehem* sex in the first half of the book as if their relationship wouldn't be whole and complete without sex. Like sex is the highest point of a relationship. Sure, issues like friendship and family were emphasized as well but seriously, I think the story was better invested on something else rather than their anticipation of having sex together for the first time. Sure, the build up adds to the value of the relationship itself but I don't know...it's really hard to explain. Personally I think that the first time for a couple should of course be uh, thought carefully beforehand to make it, urmm meaningful but it shouldn't appear as if it's the goal of a relationship. The part which annoyed me the most is when Will decided to reject Lake when she was still crying. I thought this thing needs a common decision from both sides and Will totally denied her right. I know many people will disagree but anywaaaay...<br />
<br />
Kiersten and Sherry are nice additions to the story. Caulder and Kel are charming and cute as usual. I'm glad we still get to learn more about Julia, she is such an inspiring character. I'm not sure what the author wanted to prove or show with Eddie and Gavin relationship. Again, Vaughn and Reece are like the causes of some of major events in this book but apart from being the cause, their characters didn't get fleshed out more so they ended up to be very one-dimensional.<br />
<br />
Similar to <em>Slammed</em>, the storyline is indeed cliche but unlike in its predecessor where the cliche was handled in such a way that you wouldn't think it's possible for the book to be that wonderful when the same plotline has been reused over and over again in countless other books, in <em>Point of Retreat</em>, the cliche remains as cliche. *sigh*
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me gusta! A four-stars</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a>
Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-40729188550979993552013-03-28T13:39:00.000+10:302013-03-28T13:39:29.876+10:30Blitz: 3rd bundle in the Grimm Diaries novella series by Cameron Jace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the 3rd bundle in the Grimm Diaries novella series. the first and second bundle will be 0.99 each from the 28th until the 31st.<br />
1) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AA4JIWC">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AA4JIWC</a><br />
2) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AA4JIWC">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AA4JIWC</a><br />
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<b>Grimm Diaries by Cameron Jace </b><br />
<b>Prequels 11-14 </b><br />
<b>Publication date: March 28th 2013 </b><br />
<b>Genre: YA Fantasy/Fairy Tale</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Synopsis:<br />10.5) Happy Valentine’s Slay by Wee Willy Winkie The real Sandman Grimm sheds a light on what happened in Jawigi, and tells about how some of the teens in Sorrow spend their Valentine’s Day.<br />11) Children of Hamlin by the Devil The Devil tells the story of the Piper of Hamlin, who he really is, the historical events he witnessed, and his relationship to Ladle Rat. Most of all, why they call him the Black Death.<br />12) Tooth & Nail & Fairy Tale by Jack Madly Jack Madly stole a sack full of baby teeth from Bluebeard’s enchanted castle, which reminds him of when he first met the Tooth Fairy when he was a child; a memory he wishes to forget.<br />13) Ember in the Wind by the Little Match Girl All the Little Match Girl wants is to sell her matches so she uses the money to eat and find shelter from the cold. But no one in the cruel city of crowded London helps her. Eventually, she learns something about who she really is, and it changes her life forever.<br />14) Jar of Hearts by the Queen of Sorrow The Queen of Sorrow, still trapped in the Dreamworld summons Cassandra, the fortuneteller, to ask her about the identities of Lost Seven. The problem with Cassandra is that she’s cursed that her predictions will never be believed. The Queen is still determined to believe her, but it will cost more than she can bargain for.</blockquote>
GOODREADS: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17661963-the-grimm-diaries-volume-11-14">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17661963-the-grimm-diaries-volume-11-14</a><br />
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AUTHOR BIO<br />
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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.</blockquote>
Author Links:<br />
<br />
Website: <a href="http://cameronjace.blogspot.ca/">http://cameronjace.blogspot.ca/</a><br />
Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/995289.Cameron_Jace">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/995289.Cameron_Jace</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/camjace">https://www.facebook.com/camjace</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/cameronjace">https://twitter.com/cameronjace</a><br />
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-82690681986229629492013-03-26T16:02:00.001+10:302013-03-26T16:02:47.214+10:30Mini Review: Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2) by Tahereh Mafi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13104080-unravel-me">Unravel Me</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4637539.Tahereh_Mafi">Tahereh Mafi</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/570753737">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
tick<br />tick<br />tick<br />tick<br />tick<br />it's almost<br />time for war.<br />Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.<br />She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.<br />Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.<br />In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life </blockquote>
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DO NOT TRUST MY RATING.<br />
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I REPEAT, DO NOT TRUST MY RATING.<br />
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I hated Shatter Me. <br />
<br />
After Unravel Me, I still hated Juliette and Adam.<br />
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But Kenji was amazing.<br />
<br />
And Warner was...<br />
<img class="escapedImg" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mf6tf1gDT51r8u2ws.gif" /><br />
<br />
Trust me, I think I might have given this book a 4-stars solely because of Kenji and Warner.<br />
<br />
How can. A guy. A bad guy. Who doesn't even feel guilty reading a girl's diary. Be THIS HOT? <br />
<br />
A quarter through the book, I had enough of Juliette's whines "It's my fault he's here, it's my fault he's in danger bla bla bla". <br />
Really guys! She needs a good bitchslap to bring some sense into her mind. Adam was on his period and not helping as usual. Blegh~ At this point, all I could give was 1.5 stars.<br />
<br />
Enter Kenji with his inspiring 'grow some balls' talk and I thought, hey, lets vote this guy as the next president.<br />
<br />
But I was still <s>waiting for Warner to make an appearance</s> unimpressed.<br />
<br />
Enter Warner and I couldn't read fast enough. Heeeeeeeee<br />
<br />
Do you still want me to comment on the plot? Well, it was like every other dystopia in the market, this book is after all, still heavy on the romance side, so don't get your hope up. The twists were good, I guess since Juliette always makes a big deal of everything, every twist seems massively shocking when narrated from her POV.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me gusta! 4-stars</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a><br />
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-28505117116329192502013-03-11T18:41:00.002+10:302013-03-11T18:41:53.729+10:30Review: Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13049981-boundless">Boundless</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3290920.Cynthia_Hand">Cynthia Hand</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/557705537">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life.<br />Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.<br />As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.<br />In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all.</blockquote>
Actual rating: 4.5 stars<br /><br />In the end, my allegiance lies with Christian...<br /><br />Oh wow. I actually finished a series I completely and utterly adored for the past few years. And I feel satisfied. After a bitter disappointment over <em>Hallowed</em>, I can safely say that this series has earned that special place in my heart for years to come. I CANNOT wait for more from <em>Cynthia Hands</em>. She has this way of making her books so easy to read but thoughtful at the same time.<br />
<br />
<em>Boundless</em> started slow for me. I found that there weren't much to anticipate once the characters left the high school. But when I was struck with what actually happened to Angela, the reading experience was effortless from here on.<br />
<br />
Oh boy, how can I forget how hard I fell for Tucker after <em>Unearthly</em>. After <em>Hallowed</em>, Christian got me swayed a bit and in <em>Boundless</em>, well, lets just say, I'm all his. XD Kinda unfair to be honest, since Tucker didn't get much exposure in this book to begin with. <span style="display: none;">[Still, when in the climax, we were convinced that Tucker actually had died, a single, lone tear actually rolled l from my eye and I thought, so it all came down to this, eh?<br /><br />Lo and behold, this was the point where the book loses its 0.5 star because resuscitating the dead and somehow the guy who came back to life becomes the prophet was all a little bit too grandiose for my liking. But at least, the ending wasn't as silly happy ever after-ish as offered in Breaking Dawn where nobody loses a limb. So there's that.<br /><br />The baddies weren't as badass as I expected. Heh, I couldn't even recall his name. Amyst? Armasd? Uh, this memory of a goldfish. Samjeeza was dashing in this book. Somehow.<br /><br />That creep.<br /><br />Gee...never thought I'd be rooting for him as the leader of The Watchers back again.<br /><br />The annoyings. Jeffrey and Angela. Wished they could be more useful. But I didn't like them since the first book anyway.<br /><br />The I-need-more-of-you-beybeh! Micheal and Thomas. Why didn't I get MOAR? They deserved more airtime, helloooo? <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8520925910594964712" onclick="hideSpoiler(this)" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;">(hide spoiler)</a>]</span><br />
<br />
***Spoilers alert***<br />
<br />
<br />
Still, when in the climax, we were convinced that Tucker actually had died, a single, lone tear actually rolled l from my eye and I thought, so it all came down to this, eh?<br />
<br />
Lo and behold, this was the point where the book loses its 0.5 star because resuscitating the dead and somehow the guy who came back to life becomes the prophet was all a little bit too grandiose for my liking. But at least, the ending wasn't as silly happy ever after-ish as offered in Breaking Dawn where nobody loses a limb. So there's that.<br />
<br />
The baddies weren't as badass as I expected. Heh, I couldn't even recall his name. Amyst? Armasd? Uh, this memory of a goldfish. Samjeeza was dashing in this book. Somehow.<br />
<br />
That creep.<br />
<br />
Gee...never thought I'd be rooting for him as the leader of The Watchers back again.<br />
<br />
The annoyings. Jeffrey and Angela. Wished they could be more useful. But I didn't like them since the first book anyway.<br />
<br />
The I-need-more-of-you-beybeh! Micheal and Thomas. Why didn't I get MOAR? They deserved more airtime, helloooo?<br />
<br />
***Spoilers finished***<br />
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<br />
So yeah, basically I think I used up my long weekend pretty well, considering I still can't stop smiling over this book and this series altogether. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet baby penguins! A 4.5 stars.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a>Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-16913700033721943792013-03-07T16:00:00.000+10:302013-03-07T16:00:01.711+10:30Blog Tour: Ashes (Arson #2) by Estevan Vega - Promo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Ashes (Arson #2)</b></div>
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<b>by Estevan Vega</b></div>
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ASHES is a YA paranormal thrill-ride. Book 2 in the gripping Arson trilogy. </div>
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MORE THAN THREE MONTHS HAVE PASSED SINCE ARSON AND EMERY WERE SUDDENLY TAKEN. TAKEN AND THEN SEPARATED. AND EXPERIMENTED ON.</div>
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The minds running Salvation Asylum have abducted them for a dark purpose. A campaign has been set in motion to genetically alter mankind. Unknowingly, Arson has become the most vital instrument in this global scheme, initiated by a select group of brilliant scientists and cunning world leaders. Confused, trapped, and unable to fully manifest his abilities, Arson faces a new existence crawling with questions. Will he ever see Emery again? Is Grandma still alive? Can the fate of the human race really hang in the balance of one choice?</div>
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Nightmare and reality collide in Ashes, book two in the gripping ARSON trilogy. Love will be tested. Powers will shift. And the past will invade the here and now as Arson discovers a part of himself he has never before known and fights against his own shocking origins. Will this boy who once tempted fire be able to take on a fearful future? When the struggle intensifies and secrets come to light, will Arson be ready to accept the haunting revelation that there may be others out there, others like him?</div>
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Book 1 of the Arson trilogy;</div>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-19741517786881233192013-03-06T20:40:00.002+10:302013-03-06T20:40:23.047+10:30Blog Tour: Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey (Review + Favourite Quote)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13629923-legacy-of-the-clockwork-key">Legacy of the Clockwork Key</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5815425.Kristin_Bailey">Kristin Bailey</a><br />
Release date: March 5th 2013<br />
Publisher: Simon Pulse<br />
Pre-order: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442440260?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1442440260&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A teen girl unravels the mysteries of a secret society and their most dangerous invention in this adventure-swept romance set in Victorian London.When a fire consumes Meg’s home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key that only Meg can use—that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg is compelled to follow.<br />Meg has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect—and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg is swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny in this captivating start to a trilogy.</blockquote>
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<b><u>Review</u></b></div>
Actual rating 2.5 stars<br />
<br />
LOL.<br />
<br />
Where is that special something I was looking for?<br />
<br />
Where is it?<br />
<br />
Yea, it reads like a steampunk book, it's good, the plot was nice, the prose okay. But guys, for a traditionally published book, this was just not good enough. If this was published three years ago, I'd go ballistic for it but at the current standard, this just didn't cut it.<br />
<br />
You know, if this book was made into an epic-fantasy video game, I'd be happy to play it. But as a book, it lacks powerful characters and substantial plot. Seriously guys, it felt very video-game-ish to me - so you are this girl who is thrown into this adventure to unlock the mystery bla bla bla.<br />
<br />
Meg as the main protagonist was absolutely pathetic. She has zero self-confidence but at the same time likes to do things without proper planning and consideration. She trust people. Too easily. <br />
<br />
<em>It was very unwise to trust him, but in my heart, I knew it was the right thing.</em><br />
<br />
<img class="escapedImg" src="http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae317/zuleeza/intelligentlife_zps03ee24b8.jpg" /><br />
<br />
I understand that women during that era tend to be poise and gentle but even after I factored that into account, Meg is still a weak and uninspiring character for me. <br />
<br />
Page 110: <em>A mystery lingered, a deadly one. I needed to reach the heart of it before someone took my life.</em><br />
<br />
Page 384: <em>This was all my fault. If I had never opened the key, none of this would ever happened.</em><br />
<br />
Uh...girl, I think opening the key to save your life is the wisest thing you ever did.<br />
<br />
She describes a lot of her emotions but I couldn't feel them, I couldn't connect with them at all. She narrates like a freaking news presenter!<br />
<br />
The romance. Jeez, I didn't get it at all? First, obviously because I didn't find Meg as likeable and second, people don't fall in love just because they spend a lot of time together LOL. So Will spent a good proportion of the book saving Meg's ass and they supposed to love each other? I can understand it from Meg's point of view because she repeatedly thinks Will is handsome plus she practically owes her life to him but from Will's point of view? Meh. You wouldn't love a girl just because she sewn your shirts, would you?<br />
<br />
And at third quarter of the book, Will backs up because he thinks Meg deserves better than him because he is penniless?<br />
<br />
<img class="escapedImg" src="http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae317/zuleeza/deep_zpseb55aef0.jpg" /><br />
<br />
It's not like you are quadriplegic! You can still feed the girl you said you love by gee...I don't know...working?<br />
<br />
The supporting characters? Double meh. Plain and boring, won't waste time talking about them because then, I'll get grumpy.<br />
<br />
The plot. <br />
<br />
THE PLOT. <br />
<br />
Ugrhhh~<br />
<br />
Like I said before, everything was too well-planned like a video game plot. Coincidence? Well, Meg certainly is a bloody lucky person then.<br />
<br />
I better stop now before I rant on and on because actually, the book isn't too bad. I finished it so that's something. But would I recommend it? Probably not.<br />
<br />
<em>**An ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.</em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XSiPdm-Mjpo/UN-X54Gz3rI/AAAAAAAABcQ/JD8W_tT3w8A/s1600/poker+face.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="79" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XSiPdm-Mjpo/UN-X54Gz3rI/AAAAAAAABcQ/JD8W_tT3w8A/s200/poker+face.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 poker faces.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Favourite Quote</u></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
"What will I do with you?"</div>
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He said the words softly, reverently. My heart answered a million possibilities, and they all filled me with hope and wonder. I loved him. I knew in that moment, I'd never again need wings to fly.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>About the Author </u></b></div>
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1336101710p5/5815425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1336101710p5/5815425.jpg" /></a><br />
<blockquote>
Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.<br />
Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.<br />
In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.<br />
<a href="http://www.kristinbailey.com/">www.kristinbailey.com</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/KBaileyBooks">twitter.com/KBaileyBooks</a></blockquote>
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<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-44152275375012805972013-03-04T09:00:00.000+10:302013-03-04T09:00:01.162+10:30Cover Reveal: The Underground Witch (Incenaga Trilogy, #2) by Debbie Dee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rnb0moUJTDA/UTKvKcxvtSI/AAAAAAAABz8/G0YHj9fQTus/s1600/The+Underground+Witch+-+Debbie+Dee+-+medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rnb0moUJTDA/UTKvKcxvtSI/AAAAAAAABz8/G0YHj9fQTus/s400/The+Underground+Witch+-+Debbie+Dee+-+medium.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Underground Witch (Incenaga Trilogy, #2)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6535967.Debbie_Dee">Debbie Dee</a></div>
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Expected publication: May 2nd 2013 by Dolce Books</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
As the last of the Incenaga Witches, Emmeline has been tortured, abused, and forced to use her power to kill. But unlike the Incenagas before her, she has survived. With her freedom restored, she should feel safe, invincible even. After all, she has the protection of Erick’s army and a power strong enough to obliterate any enemy. Yet Emmeline lives in fear for the next person who will try to control her, and no one can seem to find the tyrant threatening to claim her.</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Until it’s too late.</div>
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</div>
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With everything on the line, and the enemy at her throat, Emmeline has no choice but to convince Erick she no longer loves him (or risk him following her) and disappear with the one person she vowed to hate. But when she finds a way to take back her freedom and fight for Erick, will Emmeline be able to use her power like never before? Even if it kills her?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In The Underground Witch, the second novel of the Incenaga Trilogy, Debbie Dee delivers enough adventure, heartbreak, and suspense to captivate readers at every turn.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sequel to: </div>
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348084543l/16035850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348084543l/16035850.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16035850-the-last-witch">The Last Witch (Incenaga #1)</a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u><b>AUTHOR BIO</b></u></div>
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1348096857p5/6535967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1348096857p5/6535967.jpg" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
Debbie Dee recently moved to southern Idaho with her husband and three children where she is learning how to be a country girl in her favorite pair of blue heels. She adores fairy tales and happy endings, but secretly crushes on the bad guy now and then. As a dedicated musician who practices way too much, she never expected writing would sweep her off her feet until she jotted down a scene from a daydream, which turned into two scenes, which turned into a messy house and her first novel. Since then she hasn’t been able to let a day go by without writing.</blockquote>
<span style="text-align: center;">Website – </span><a href="http://www.debbiedee.com/" style="text-align: center;">http://www.debbiedee.com/</a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Goodreads - <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6535967.Debbie_Dee">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6535967.Debbie_Dee</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Facebook - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/debbiedeeauthor">https://www.facebook.com/debbiedeeauthor</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/_DebbieDee">https://twitter.com/_DebbieDee</a></div>
</div>
Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-62310114538505154512013-03-03T08:11:00.000+10:302013-04-05T07:51:53.590+10:30Blog Tour: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett (Review + INT Giveaway)<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358468998l/12411635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358468998l/12411635.jpg" width="219" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12411635-the-nightmare-affair">The Nightmare Affair</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5145808.Mindee_Arnett">Mindee Arnett</a><br />
Release date: March 5th, 2013<br />
Publisher: Tor Teens<br />
Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12411635-the-nightmare-affair">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12411635-the-nightmare-affair</a><br />
Purchase: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765333333?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0765333333&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Nightmare-Affair-Mindee-Arnett/9780765333339">Book Depository</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Description via Goodreads:<br />
16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.<br />
Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.<br />
And then it comes true.<br />
Now Dusty has to follow the clues--both within Eli’s dreams and out of them--to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.</blockquote>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Review</span></u></b></div>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/541324180">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
Words cannot express how sorry I am for being MIA since early this year. My daily routine includes chopping sheep organs and working with radioactive substance for my Honors year. Wish I have more time to hang out here and read more. :(<br />
<br />
Anyway, The Midnight Affair was a lovely surprise because I didn't expect to feel this entertained when I was expecting something entirely different from a book. I don't know why but I kept expecting a darker and a more depressing tone of the story even though the cover and the blurb kinda hint that this is more like a chick-lit fantasy YA novel. Probably because my infatuation with lucid dreams LOL! <br />
<br />
Initially, although the premise of Nightmare as a person is very refreshing, I couldn't help but to feel like this is another Harry Potter/Hex Hall wannabe. It doesn't help when Dusty, the protag reminds me a lot of Sophie from Hex Hall due to her sassy plus awkward persona. But somehow it worked? I agree the first half was not substantial enough but strangely it didn't deter me from reading more. I was quite entertained with the wide range of species in Arkwell Academy such as the werewolf police, the hag, the siren - they all inject a little something to the story with their distinctive personalities.<br />
<br />
The second half was intense LOL! The myth isn't entirely original but the spin put on to it was believable and well-developed. I have a feeling that there were indeed some plot holes, but because the story was so enjoyable at this point, I didn't bother to scrutinize anymore. Yes, it was also predictable but not too predictable, if you get I mean? LOL! You'd know that obviously these guys weren't the bad guys but you're not entirely sure if the good guys were truly the good guys?<br />
<br />
Anyway, the ending put aside, Paul is the ultimate swoonworthy guy! I also liked the best friend, Selene, the rebellious siren. I was somewhat entertained by the pranks war between Dusty and Lance. Lance is this scumbag, popular guy who likes to assume the Joker persona. Extra brownie points from me there because I just love the Joker!<br />
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So overall, I thought this book wasn't bad at all. It's not spectacular, mind you, but if you're looking for a light read then this fits the bill nicely. :)<br />
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<em>**The ARC was provided by Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review.</em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fch6ORpajCE/UTJwdXVnZQI/AAAAAAAABzs/ST3UZwTUWyY/s1600/me+gusta.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="73" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fch6ORpajCE/UTJwdXVnZQI/AAAAAAAABzs/ST3UZwTUWyY/s320/me+gusta.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me gusta! A four-star!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Trailer</u></b></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rZQW9YmqWG4" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>About the Author</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.mindeearnett.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/marnett_authorphoto_small.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.mindeearnett.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/marnett_authorphoto_small.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.<br />
<a href="http://www.mindeearnett.com/">www.mindeearnett.com</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/mindeearnett">twitter.com/mindeearnett</a></blockquote>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Giveaway</u></b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
*TWO SIGNED copies will be available for giveaway open to International readers!!</div>
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<div>
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/64262927/" id="rc-64262927" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></div>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-60843155164288175202013-02-22T05:35:00.001+10:302013-02-22T05:35:34.475+10:30Cover Reveal: Spirit (Elemental, #5), by Shauna Granger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o_FRrT7Ul98/USZvCQFVt3I/AAAAAAAAByo/o6v_Xc8-Wo8/s1600/SPIRIT-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o_FRrT7Ul98/USZvCQFVt3I/AAAAAAAAByo/o6v_Xc8-Wo8/s400/SPIRIT-large.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Title:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Spirit
(Elemental, #5)</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Author:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shauna
Granger<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Release
date: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">April 30, 2013<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Genre:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Urban
Fantasy<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">YA/New
Adult/Adult: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">YA/New Adult<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cover
Design:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://www.stephaniemooney.net/">Mooney Designs</a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cover
reveal organized by:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://atomrbookblogtours.com/">AToMR Tours</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Goodreads:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17207322-spirit">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17207322-spirit</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Book
Description:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fafcff; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not
even a guardian angel is more powerful than Death.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: #fafcff; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: #fafcff; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Always careful to watch out for others, Shayna put too much trust her
abilities to keep herself safe and has been cut down by crazed man. Now she is
trapped in the land of the dead, watching as her two best friends suffer the
consequences of her death; their powers are fading and soon they will too. Shayna
is desperate to return to the land of the living to save them from a similar,
cold fate. To save her friends Shayna must turn away from the Light and, in
doing so, sacrifice her wings.</span></div>
</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">But the longer Shayna stays among the dead, the further she slips from sanity.
If Shayna cannot find her way back she will be condemned and lost forever among
the restless souls of the dead. With nothing left to lose, she will do whatever
it takes to fight her way back, with or without her wings.</span></div>
<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #FAFCFF; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">About the Author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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o:title="Shauna Granger"/>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s0WF6QfDG8Y/USZvWFJWE2I/AAAAAAAAByw/HPZpSnuS440/s1600/shaunagranger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s0WF6QfDG8Y/USZvWFJWE2I/AAAAAAAAByw/HPZpSnuS440/s200/shaunagranger.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like so many other writers, Shauna grew
up as an avid reader, it was in high school that she realized she wanted to be
a writer. Five years ago Shauna started work on her Elemental Series and
released the first installment, <u>Earth</u>, on May 1, 2011. When not reading
and writing, Shauna enjoys cooking and playing hostess whenever she can. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://shaunasspot.blogspot.com/"><span style="background: white;">Shauna
Granger</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">| </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shauna-Granger/268859386472141"><span style="background: white;">Facebook</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">| </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://twitter.com/dyingechoes"><span style="background: white;">Twitter</span></a></span><u><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-8897622612597877462013-02-20T15:30:00.000+10:302013-02-20T19:57:59.812+10:30Blog Tour: Broken Winds (Angel Eyes Trilogy #1) - Promo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hs52rOHk1ac/ULX3SwY7ikI/AAAAAAAABHc/x75tOk9Ps_o/s1600/018_YA_Broken-Wings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="153" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hs52rOHk1ac/ULX3SwY7ikI/AAAAAAAABHc/x75tOk9Ps_o/s400/018_YA_Broken-Wings.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Welcome
to my stop on the Broken Wings blog tour hosted by </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://yabound.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-tour-schedule-broken-wings-angel.html"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">YA Bound</span></i></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">.
Click </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://yabound.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-tour-schedule-broken-wings-angel.html"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">HERE</span></i></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> to see the full blog tour schedule!<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vEpOFNFSia8/USSWSAYYaqI/AAAAAAAABxE/GOlKahJ-b6M/s1600/angel+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vEpOFNFSia8/USSWSAYYaqI/AAAAAAAABxE/GOlKahJ-b6M/s320/angel+eyes.jpg" width="210" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6TrZs12NH3M/USSU9BPK5tI/AAAAAAAABw4/rz9SuI5vgbU/s1600/broken+wings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b></b></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Angel Eyes </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/63602-angel-eyes-trilogy" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(Angel
Eyes Trilogy #1)</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">by </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4983116.Shannon_Dittemore" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Shannon
Dittemore</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Release Date: May 29, 2012</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Paperback/e-book</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">336 pages</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Summary from Goodreads:</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee.
Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .<br />
<br />
ANGEL EYES<br />
<br />
Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found
tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with
her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem
to shake.<br />
<br />
Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an
unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.<br />
<br />
Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of
them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand
guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or
Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all
human choices start.<br />
<br />
A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11836562-angel-eyes"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Goodreads</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> / </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Eyes-An-Novel/dp/1401686354/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1361077931&sr=1-1"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Amazon</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> / </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/angel-eyes-shannon-dittemore/1107028928?ean=9781401686352"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Barnes & Noble</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vEpOFNFSia8/USSWSAYYaqI/AAAAAAAABxE/GOlKahJ-b6M/s1600/angel+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6TrZs12NH3M/USSU9BPK5tI/AAAAAAAABw4/rz9SuI5vgbU/s1600/broken+wings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6TrZs12NH3M/USSU9BPK5tI/AAAAAAAABw4/rz9SuI5vgbU/s320/broken+wings.jpg" width="207" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Broken Wings </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/63602-angel-eyes-trilogy" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(Angel
Eyes Trilogy #2)</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">By </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4983116.Shannon_Dittemore" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Shannon
Dittemore</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Release Date: February 19, 2013</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Paperback/e-book</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">320 pages</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Summary from Goodreads:</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Giant angels with
metal wings and visible song. A blind demon restored from the pit of
darkness. And a girl who has never felt more broken.<br />
<br />
Brielle sees the world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side
by side with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her
life begins to crumble. Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from
her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking again.
He’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl, and he’s
downright hostile toward Jake. Haunting nightmares keep Brielle from sleeping,
and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.<br />
<br />
What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness
himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who sees
through the Terrestrial Veil. When he plucks the blind demon, Damien, from the
fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes, the stage is set for a
cataclysmic battle of good versus evil.<br />
<br />
Then Brielle unearths the truth about her mother’s death and she must question
everything she ever thought was true.<br />
<br />
Brielle has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain
their terror down upon the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons she’s
been given. She must fight.<br />
<br />
But can she fly with broken wings?</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13480874-broken-wings"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Goodreads</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">
/ </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Wings-Angel-Eyes-Novel/dp/1401686370/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361077681&sr=8-1&keywords=broken+wings+shannon+dittemore"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Amazon</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">
/ </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/broken-wings-shannon-dittemore/1111895814?ean=9781401686376"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Barnes & Noble</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About
the Author<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L1opX-SVeMk/USSWc4wmbsI/AAAAAAAABxM/TvLigWKufks/s1600/shannon+dittemore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L1opX-SVeMk/USSWc4wmbsI/AAAAAAAABxM/TvLigWKufks/s1600/shannon+dittemore.jpg" /></b></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Shannon Dittemore has an
overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine
the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with
local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. The
daughter of one preacher and the wife of another, she spends her days imagining
things unseen and chasing her two children around their home in Northern
California. Angel Eyes is her first novel.</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://shannondittemore.com/"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Website</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> / </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://twitter.com/shanditty"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Twitter</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> / </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4983116.Shannon_Dittemore"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Goodreads</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">
/ </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ShannonDittemore"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Facebook</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> / </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://pinterest.com/shanditty/"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Pinterest</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Excerpt</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Olivia tilts her head at me, scrutinizing me from beneath those long—probably fake—lashes. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Your dad, Keith . . .”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I know my dad’s name.”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Of course. He tells me you’re multi-talented. Modeling, right? And some acting.”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I heft my bag higher on my shoulder. “Not so much anymore.”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She taps her teeth with a red fingernail. “Shame. The foundation’s looking to do some publicity in the near future. I wonder if I could convince you to help us out with some print work, maybe a commercial or two?”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She’s not the first one to ask. My agent’s called no less than a billion times over the past several months. I tell Olivia the same thing I tell Susie.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I don’t think so. Ballet’s really my thing. I can get you the number of a few girls in Portland who might be interested though.”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She shrugs off my offer. “Models in the city are easy enough to come by, but I’d like the opportunity to work with you.” She produces a business card. “Take it. If you change your mind, give me a call.”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t want her business card. I don’t plan to change my mind. Still, politeness demands I take it. But the minute her fingers touch mine, I jerk away. The halo flames red hot against my wrist—angry hot.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her face pales and her caramel eyes narrow. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She felt it too. She balls her hand into a fist, but leaves it hanging there. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Probably just static electricity,” she whispers. “This dry weather and all.” But, her eyes are on my hand and I have a sick feeling, like I’ve just given up a friend’s secret. I slide both arms behind my back and twine my fingers together.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“There,” she says, placing the card on the bathroom counter. “Don’t want another shock, do we?” And then she takes a step back and grabs the door. “I’d appreciate you taking the card, Brielle. Just in case.”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I leave the card on the counter and walk away.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because she’s right. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another shock is the last thing we need. </span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">***GIVEAWAY***<br />
(1) Print copies of Angel Eyes and Broken Wings (US Only)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(5)
Print copies of Broken Wings (US only)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rafflecopter
Code:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2348b976/" id="rc-2348b976" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-9684676863675407262013-02-10T10:28:00.000+10:302013-02-10T10:28:26.740+10:30Blog Tour: Ashes and Ice (Ashes and Ice, #1) by Rochelle Maya Callen - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOiaWyHL-t8/URbWcincbUI/AAAAAAAABv8/653kIumEtr4/s1600/395435_481134881923857_640535297_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOiaWyHL-t8/URbWcincbUI/AAAAAAAABv8/653kIumEtr4/s200/395435_481134881923857_640535297_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346242360l/15864513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346242360l/15864513.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15864513-ashes-and-ice">Ashes and Ice</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6483061.Rochelle_Maya_Callen">Rochelle Maya Callen</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/522117126">3 of 5 stars</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
She is desperate to remember.<br />
He is aching to forget.<br />
Together, they are not broken.<br />
But together, one may not survive.<br />
Jade wakes up with no memory of her past and blood on her hands.<br />
Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.<br />
LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice.</blockquote>
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<img class="escapedImg" height="160" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lt6iia6wYi1qcs29b.gif" width="400" /><br />
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Okay! I feel much better now!<br />
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If you're wondering what's up with the angst, it's because I had to read 218 out of 257 pages to know the big secret! I had my suspicion of who (or what) Jade really is but nothing was certain until that very end of the book. Cruel. Very cruel to let the readers hanging like that. It was more cruel than a cliffhanger ending because Jade's identity is the essence of the story itself.<br />
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Anyway, Ashes and Ice is a nice effort from a debut author, Rochelle Maya Callen. The concept was intriguing - the battle between one's good side and bad side is right up my alley. The prose was mesmerizing too, for example;<br />
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"I hunch forward, leaning my head on my palm. I think of spit up blood, black suit, roses, eulogies and wet pillows. I think of lonely guitars, quiet houses, pointing fingers and scraped foreheads."<br />
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BUT sadly, it was obvious that this is a self-pubbed book. Something needs to be done to the flow of this book. I'm a big fan of short novels so this is rare, but I thought some of the chapters need to be expanded in order for the plot to make sense. The settings and the scenes were rapidly changing so three to four pages to describe and explain an important scene isn't going to cut it. Some of the sub-plotlines also disappeared completely by half of the book. For instance; how Jade really fits in the school, is she coping well with the homeworks, quizzes and exams (yes, contrary to popular belief, I do think these teenage paranormal creatures still need to keep up with their educations!). Also, it's odd how the law enforcers didn't find any clues or suspects when the homicide cases was rising. <br />
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The characters were okay, I guess. I could connect with Jade very well at the beginning until she starts to feel something for the ultimate asshat, which is Dominic. More about Dominic later. Connor is new for a male protag although his insecurities made him sound feminine at times. <br />
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Dominic. As the supposedly irresistible, magnetic guy, I only found him as repulsive. I know Jade meant to have this attraction to him because of her nature, but I still feel like uh, Jade, he might sound very evil, but he is nowhere near that definition of sexy evil. More like a scumbag. <br />
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Overall, Ashes and Ice is a nice book. I read it in a single sitting and didn't regret it (which is something the author should be proud of, trust me) but there are still a lot of rooms for improvement.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TrFev-lhdlQ/URbV_qFz-sI/AAAAAAAABv0/s6qY2204ybk/s1600/poker+face.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="79" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TrFev-lhdlQ/URbV_qFz-sI/AAAAAAAABv0/s6qY2204ybk/s200/poker+face.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three poker faces</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a><br />
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<u>AUTHOR BIO</u></div>
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Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with her husband and daughter. By day she works as a behavioral therapist. By night, she is a dreamer and is busy tapping out new stories on her keyboard. <a href="http://www.rochellemayacallen.com/">Website </a>/ <a href="https://twitter.com/RockyIsWriting">Twitter </a>/ <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15864513-ashes-and-ice">Goodreads </a>/ <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Rochelle-Maya-Callen-Author/478176392210312">Facebook</a></blockquote>
Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-56267272041446016822013-02-04T21:03:00.002+10:302013-02-04T21:03:42.469+10:30Trailer Reveal: The Watcher by Lisa Voisin + Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.rockstarbooktours.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5xH5qjP7eRI/UQhbpLleIgI/AAAAAAAADww/3SrBwUwgJXE/s1600/The-Watcher-Trailer-Reveal-3D-FINAL1.png" /></a></div>
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Author Lisa Voisin’s <b>THE WATCHER</b> will be releasing exactly one month from today, on March 4th, 2013 and we’re super excited to be able to share with our blog’s readers a short excerpt from the book and to be a part of the book’s awesome trailer reveal!<br />
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There is also a giveaway for a pre-order copy of <b>THE WATCHER</b> for US/Canada residents. So be sure to enter below.<br />
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<b>THE WATCHER</b> is author Lisa Voisin’s debut novel and is a book Eileen Cook says, <i>“…is sure to keep readers turning the pages late into the night.”</i><br />
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And after having read both the excerpt and the book’s description, we couldn’t agree more! But we’ll let you decide for yourself. They’re both included below.
As is the book’s wicked cool trailer!<br />
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With some gothic techno beats, super cool images and a description that is meant to tease, this trailer totally sets the mood for this story. What do you think?
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<b>About the Book</b><br />
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Title: <b>THE WATCHER</b><br />
Author: Lisa Voisin<br />
Publisher: InkSpell Publishing<br />
Publication date: March 4, 2013<br />
Pages: 508<br />
Format: Available to pre-order in Paperback<br />
Find it: <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13665100-the-watcher" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></b> | <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0985656220/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0985656220&linkCode=as2&tag=lisvoiaut-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b> | <b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-watcher-lisa-voisin/1112239074?ean=9780985656225" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b> | <b><a href="http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/1/post/2012/07/cover-reveal-the-watcher.html" target="_blank">Inkspell</a></b> | <b><a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Watcher/book-lvBSSshsa0eD7Vi69x88pw/page1.html?s=ZRBr-QJob0yrX-sb3rgK7A&r=1" target="_blank">Kobo</a></b><br />
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<i>Millennia ago, he fell from heaven for her.</i><br />
<i>Can he face her without falling again?</i><br />
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Fascinated with ancient civilizations, seventeen-year-old Mia Crawford dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She also dreams of wings—soft and silent like snow—and somebody trying to steal them.<br />
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When a horrible creature appears out of thin air and attacks her, she knows Michael Fontaine is involved, though he claims to know nothing about it. Secretive and aloof, Michael evokes feelings in Mia that she doesn’t understand. Images of another time and place haunt her. She recognizes them—but not from any textbook.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u7S0A4wRCoI/UQheAVFpH4I/AAAAAAAADw4/oM-Ekm4RuvA/s1600/LISA+Voisin_150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u7S0A4wRCoI/UQheAVFpH4I/AAAAAAAADw4/oM-Ekm4RuvA/s320/LISA+Voisin_150.jpg" width="213" /></a><b>About the Author</b><br />
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A Canadian-born author, Lisa Voisin spent her childhood daydreaming and making up stories, but it was her love of reading and writing in her teens that drew her to Young Adult fiction.
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When she's not writing, you'll find her meditating or hiking in the mountains to counter the side effects of drinking too much coffee.
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She lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her fiance and their two cats.
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Find her: <b><a href="https://twitter.com/lvoisin" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b> | <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lisavoisinauthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b> | <b><a href="http://www.lisavoisin.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></b> | <b><a href="http://lisavoisin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a></b><br />
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Instead of saying more, he brushed his fingertips along my cheek, and his halo glimmered. I could hear the waves slapping the rocks behind us, the wind driving them in. That same wind whipped against my skin, but the touch of his hand on my face was all I could think about. It sent a current through both of us and filled me with longing for something I wasn’t sure I understood.<br />
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“I’m sorry.” He stepped back and shoved his hands into his pockets as the light around him faded. “You don’t know what it’s like. Being near you now, remembering those moments we had…” His hair blew into his eyes, but this time he didn’t move. I wanted to brush it back, but I didn’t know how he’d react. Would touching him be bad?<br />
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“You want to know who you were?” he asked. “You may look different, but you’re the same. I look into your eyes and see you.” He took in a deep breath, fixing his attention on the horizon. I’d seen and heard so much now that the logical part of my brain had long since given up arguing with me. I could feel what he was saying was true. All of it.
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-53327357302773286682013-02-04T15:30:00.000+10:302013-02-04T18:31:41.330+10:30Release Day Blitz: Ashes & Ice by Rochelle Maya Callen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In conjunction with the release day, get your copy of Ashes & Ice for only 99 cent only!</div>
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g4ewKvWi-bg/UQgwFFhycBI/AAAAAAAABrU/2mvStjQ-Wxk/s1600/AshesIce_ebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g4ewKvWi-bg/UQgwFFhycBI/AAAAAAAABrU/2mvStjQ-Wxk/s320/AshesIce_ebook.jpg" width="214" /></a>Title: Ashes & Ice<br />
Author: Rochelle Maya Callen<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Release Day: February 4th, 2013<br />
Genre: Young Adult<br />
Blitz Host: <a href="http://ambersupernaturalandya.blogspot.com/p/lady-amber-tours.html">Lady Amber's Tours</a><br />
Buy Link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ashes-and-Ice-ebook/dp/B00BAFOI02/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1359925497&sr=8-7&keywords=ashes+and+ice">Amazon</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
She is desperate to remember.<br />
He is aching to forget.<br />
Together, they are not broken.<br />
But together, one may not survive.<br />
Jade wakes up with no memory of her past and blood on her hands.<br />
Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.<br />
LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice</blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>AUTHOR BIO</u></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eyhoHAIQwag/UQgwreV0FhI/AAAAAAAABrc/M2uzLFMZhEw/s1600/authorpic4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eyhoHAIQwag/UQgwreV0FhI/AAAAAAAABrc/M2uzLFMZhEw/s200/authorpic4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with her husband and daughter. By day she works as a behavioral therapist. By night, she is a dreamer and is busy tapping out new stories on her keyboard. <a href="http://www.rochellemayacallen.com/">Website </a>/ <a href="https://twitter.com/RockyIsWriting">Twitter </a>/ <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15864513-ashes-and-ice">Goodreads </a>/ <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Rochelle-Maya-Callen-Author/478176392210312">Facebook</a></blockquote>
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<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>EXCERPT</u></div>
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<b>Jade</b><br />
The girl’s glassy, dead eyes stare into me, through me, pierce me with a fierce urgency, with a wicked accusation. The blood is still on my hands.<br />
Red hair, blue eyes, a constellation of freckles on pale skin. She was fragile and innocent, a lovely thing. That is what I think until I see the gashes on her wrists and throat. With her blood spilling out, she looks delicious. She’s mine. Possessiveness shocks me, stabs into me. I run, tearing away from a craving I don't understand.<br />
Breathless, I grit my teeth and run harder, faster.<br />
<br />
My feet pound against the earth, away from the lifeless body and toward the lights of the city lingering on the horizon. Rot and death linger in my nostrils. Unscarred skin stretches taut over my freezing bones. Echoes of an empty memory reverberate in my mind, taunting me. The ice chases me, clutches me, and bites at my heels, sending shivers up my spine. The ice wants me back, but I run forward, toward the lights, toward the heat, toward a world that burns me, because I have no other choice.<br />
The lights are so close. Heat scalds my skin.<br />
Images race through my mind, paralyzing me. I skid to a stop, my boots digging into the mud. The vision’s blurred edges materialize into solid shapes.<br />
I gasp.<br />
A new horror rakes my insides. Desperation propels me forward; the pictures nagging at my seams threaten to tear me apart.<br />
Scorching fire licks over my skin. In my vision, I contort like a vile, ugly creature, eyes as black as decay. My frame hunches over the small, dead girl, like a demon looming over a defenseless child. Her blood drips from my mouth.<br />
I lick my lips and taste only salty sweat.<br />
I run, desperate to trample the vision under my feet, to crush it deep into the ground.<br />
I refuse to believe the image, refuse to acknowledge the monster within me demanding to be unleashed—and the possibility it has already been unbound. An unrelenting tide of fear washes over me. Past the denial, the fear, and the hope, I think I can still taste her.<br />
The cold stillness inside me cracks open just as the lights of the city slam into me.<br />
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<u>BOOK TRAILER</u></div>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-39265318305033891652013-02-02T10:27:00.003+10:302013-02-02T10:27:51.039+10:30Release Day Blitz: Fire Country (Country Saga #1) + Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>We're excited to announce that Fire Country the sister series for The Dweller Saga by David Estes is ready to be published on February 1st and for that day only, the ebook is going to be at $2.99 (25% off regular prize).</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NJP2FjJkV1I/UQxTtgKQQqI/AAAAAAAABtE/UDg6xmj8Bqo/s1600/Fire+Country+Cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NJP2FjJkV1I/UQxTtgKQQqI/AAAAAAAABtE/UDg6xmj8Bqo/s320/Fire+Country+Cover.jpg" width="215" /></a>Title: Fire Country (Country Saga #1)</div>
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Author: David Estes</div>
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Publisher: ShareAread</div>
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Release Date: February 1st, 2013</div>
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Formats: E-book</div>
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Goodreads TBR: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16160701-fire-country">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16160701-fire-country</a></div>
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Cover Artist: Regina Wamba</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely.<br />
Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.<br />
Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with.<br />
As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.</blockquote>
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<b><u>Buy Links</u></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Country-The-Saga-ebook/dp/B00B7VTXFO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1359662347&sr=1-1&keywords=fire+country+estes">Amazon Kindle</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fire-country-david-estes/1114268064?ean=2940015975475">Barnes & Noble Nook</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/280371">Smashwords</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Country-Volume-David-Estes/dp/1482055988">Amazon Print</a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Excerpt</u></b></div>
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When I’m sixteen and reach the midpoint of my life, I’ll have my first child. Not ’cause I want to, or ’cause I made a silly decision with a strapping young boy after sneaking a few sips of my father’s fire juice, but ’cause I must. It’s the Law of my people, the Heaters; a Law that’s kept us alive and thriving for many years. A Law I fear.<br />
<br />
I learned all about the ways of the world when I turned seven: the bleeding time, what I would hafta do with a man when I turned sixteen, and how the baby—my baby—would grow inside me for nine full moons. Even though it all seemed like a hundred years distant at the time, I cried for two days. Now that it’s less’n a year away, I’m too scared to cry.<br />
<br />
Veeva told me all ’bout the pain. She’s seventeen, and her baby’s five full moons old and “uglier’n one of the hairy ol’ warts on the Medicine Man’s feet.” Or at least that’s how she describes Polk. Me, I think he’s sorta cute, in a scrunched up, fat-cheeked kind of way. Well, anyway, she said to me, “Siena, you never felt pain so burnin’ fierce. I screamed and screamed…and then screamed some more. And then this ugly tug of a baby comes out all red-faced and oozy. And now I’m stuck with it.” I didn’t remind her Polk’s a him not an it.<br />
<br />
I already knew about her screaming. Everyone in the village knew about Veeva’s screaming. She sounded like a three ton tug stuck in a bog hole. Veeva’s always cursing, too, throwing around words like burnin’ and searin’ and blaze—words that’d draw my father’s hand across my face like lightning if I ever let them slip out of my mouth like they’re nothing more’n common language.<br />
<br />
In any case, everything she tells me about turning sixteen just makes me wish I didn’t hafta get older, could stay fifteen for the next seventeen or so years, until the Fire takes me.<br />
<br />
It’s not fair, really, that boys get to wait until they’re eighteen ’fore their names get put in the Call. I’d kill for an extra two years of no baby.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s1600/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xhUL19XBK4Y/UPIO7KkSpUI/AAAAAAAABnE/01Dhwi4mpos/s320/seamless-horizontal-border-vector-590289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Author Bio</u></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GiJbanaNJps/UQxUrZgAWQI/AAAAAAAABtM/dxPUlpue218/s1600/Author+Picture-David+Estes.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GiJbanaNJps/UQxUrZgAWQI/AAAAAAAABtM/dxPUlpue218/s1600/Author+Picture-David+Estes.png" /></a><br />
<blockquote>
David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010. He´s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table</blockquote>
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You can follow David at:</div>
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<a href="http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Estes/130864990343920">Author Facebook Page</a></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/davidestesbooks">Twitter</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3167424.David_Estes">Goodreads</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/70863-david-estes-fan-group">Goodreads fan page</a></div>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-91812810857241573332013-01-29T09:27:00.000+10:302013-01-29T10:40:36.907+10:30Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344371562l/13414569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344371562l/13414569.jpg" width="195" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13414569-the-hobbit">The Hobbit</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/656983.J_R_R_Tolkien">J.R.R. Tolkien</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/519918942">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.</blockquote>
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).<br />
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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.<br />
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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!<br />
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[SPOILERS, SPOILERS EVERYWHERE!]<br />
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What I liked about the movie;<br />
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- 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!<br />
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- 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.<br />
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- The handkerchief scene!<br />
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- 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.<br />
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- The goal of the journey itself. This line;<br />
Thorin Oakenshield: Why did you come back? <br />
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. <br />
...almost made me weep for the dwarves. In the book, the journey was for me very material-orientated. <br />
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- Azog the Defiler. Without his character, I wouldn't feel for Thorin this much.<br />
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- Bilbo himself! Contrary to in the book, the Bilbo in the movie is more resourceful. He tricked the Trolls and saved Thorin from Azog.<br />
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- Kili. <br />
<img class="escapedImg" src="http://media.tumblr.com/cae20fa2ec287b3e97cc76c157c770d0/tumblr_inline_mg0zjcJGQ91rr39mf.gif" /><br />
No explanation needed. I swear I'm going to cry once I saw the third movie.<br />
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- 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?'.<br />
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- 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.<br />
Bilbo Baggins: [asking Gandalf about Radagast] Is he a very great wizard, or is he more like you?<br />
<br />
- Radagast<br />
Radagast: I'll draw them off. <br />
Gandalf: These are goblin wargs. They'll outrun you. <br />
Radagast: These are Rhosgobel rabbits. I'd like to see them try. <br />
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- The Necromancer. With his mention, it's clearer how The Hobbit is linked to the LOTR trilogy<br />
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What I disliked about the movie;<br />
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- 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.<br />
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- 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.<br />
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- 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.<br />
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I'm not going to elaborate these points since I'd like to compare them with the subsequent films first. <br />
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What I liked about the book<br />
- The illustrations.<br />
- Breun.<br />
- Bilbo's transition.<br />
- The Archer.<br />
- Bilbo's conversation with Smaug.<br />
- The ending.<br />
- Bombur. Although I'm expecting to be annoyed by him once I saw the Mirkwood scene on screen.<br />
<br />
What I disliked about the book;<br />
- How Smaug meets his end.<br />
- 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.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BNMzqqjSkEU/UPhv3uZehtI/AAAAAAAABok/miRAvaeEToc/s1600/sweet+baby+penguins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="60" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BNMzqqjSkEU/UPhv3uZehtI/AAAAAAAABok/miRAvaeEToc/s320/sweet+baby+penguins.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet baby penguins! A five-star.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a>Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-29364124717475034382013-01-23T14:44:00.000+10:302013-01-23T14:51:17.693+10:30Blitz: The Grimm Diaries Prequels 7-10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDwfMGudUkc/UP9gw-4prJI/AAAAAAAABpU/66HduzUi0lE/s1600/Grimm+Diaries+banner+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDwfMGudUkc/UP9gw-4prJI/AAAAAAAABpU/66HduzUi0lE/s400/Grimm+Diaries+banner+copy.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358912491679_124" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358912491679_122">The Grimm Prequels - the Prequels to the highly anticipated Snow White Sorrow!</b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358912491679_109"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358912491679_108" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358912491679_107">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</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Grimm Prequels 1-6 is an <a href="http://amazon.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> <b>top 100 bestseller</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Grimm Diaries Prequels volume 7- 10 includes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once Beauty Twice Beast</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Moon & Madly</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rumpelstein</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jawigi</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvm65ESOr-M/UP9hxC5ufaI/AAAAAAAABpg/EjFIZH2aCY4/s1600/Grimm_Prequels_7_8+(Custom).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvm65ESOr-M/UP9hxC5ufaI/AAAAAAAABpg/EjFIZH2aCY4/s320/Grimm_Prequels_7_8+(Custom).jpg" width="231" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><b><span style="color: #333399;">Book Details:</span></b></u><span style="color: #222222;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Grimm Diaries Prequels 7 - 10 by Cameron Jace</span></span></strong></span></div>
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<strong><em><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Expected publication: Jan 16, 2013</span></span></em></strong></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong? </span><span style="color: #454545;"><br /></span>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.<br />
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<br />
The first book in the Series will be out in February 2013, called SNOW WHITE SORROW. </blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong style="color: #454545;">Series Description: </strong></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #454545;">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.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u style="color: #333399;"><b>Goodreads link:</b></u></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333399;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17261859-the-grimm-diaries-prequels-volume-7--10" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17261859-the-grimm-diaries-prequels-volume-7--10</a></span></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="color: #333399; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Grimm Diaries 1-6</span></b></div>
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<div style="color: #454545; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">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.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">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 </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">
</span><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">The first book in the Series will be out in February 2013, called SNOW WHITE SORROW.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">
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<span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><b>Series Description:</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">
</span><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"></span></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">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.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u style="color: #333399;"><b>Goodreads link:</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17225161-the-grimm-diaries-prequels-volume-1--6" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17225161-the-grimm-diaries-prequels-volume-1--6</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PfloSL1rtnk/UP9iPpjrlTI/AAAAAAAABqY/Kb23vn_x8K0/s1600/Snow+White+Sorrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PfloSL1rtnk/UP9iPpjrlTI/AAAAAAAABqY/Kb23vn_x8K0/s320/Snow+White+Sorrow.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PfloSL1rtnk/UP9iPpjrlTI/AAAAAAAABqY/Kb23vn_x8K0/s1600/Snow+White+Sorrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Snow White Sorrow</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 18px;"><b>Expected publication: February 2013 by Akmal Eldin Farouk Ali Shebl</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The real Snow White…</strong> living in the ruins of an ancient castle in a small town. She is described as horribly beautiful, terrifyingly enchanting, and wickedly lovely.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #333399; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><b>Goodreads link:</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13557166-snow-white-sorrow" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13557166-snow-white-sorrow</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333399; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333399; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><b>Author Bio:</b></u></span></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></u></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font: inherit; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cameron Jace:</span> </b>Wonderlander, Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma, & totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little monsters</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font: inherit; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I live in San Fransisco and seriously think circles are way cooler than triangles.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6600cc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><b>Author Links:</b></u></span></div>
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<ul style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/camjace" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/camjace</a> </span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/cameronjace" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/cameronjace</a> </span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/995289.Cameron_Jace" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/995289.Cameron_Jace</span></a></li>
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<b><span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Giveaway:</span></b></div>
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<ul style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The Grimm Prequels 1-6 & the Grimm Prequels 7-10 :) </span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">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!</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Rafflecopter Code:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b7f63683/" id="rc-b7f63683" nofollow="" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b7f63683/</a>" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358914496332_103" style="text-align: start;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358914496332_101" style="color: #444444;"><script href="http://d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js" nofollow="" src="//<a rel=" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js</a>"></script></span></div>
<div style="color: #9900ff; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">or go here and grab the code yourself:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YjdmNjM2MmFlNGZhNGZmNWQyMWM5MDU1MGVlYjE0Ojgz/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YjdmNjM2MmFlNGZhNGZmNWQyMWM5MDU1MGVlYjE0Ojgz/</a></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #9900ff; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Buy Link (Grimm Diaries Prequels 1-6):</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Grimm-Diaries-Prequels-ebook/dp/B00AA4JIWC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358196114&sr=8-1&keywords=cameron+jace" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/The-Grimm-Diaries-Prequels-ebook/dp/B00AA4JIWC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358196114&sr=8-1&keywords=cameron+jace</a></span></div>
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<b style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Buy Link (Grimm Diaries Prequels 7-10):</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B392XIE" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B392XIE</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Links to the both books on <a href="http://amazon.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">amazon.co.uk</a>:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Grimm Prequels 1-6 </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AA4JIWC" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AA4JIWC</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Grimm Prequels 7-10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B392XIE" rel="nofollow" style="color: #234786; outline: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.co,uk/dp/B00B392XIE</a></span></div>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-40606796080971535522013-01-18T08:12:00.000+10:302013-01-18T08:12:03.743+10:30Review: Girl of Nightmares (Anna, #2) by Kendare Blake <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12507214-girl-of-nightmares">Girl of Nightmares</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4086715.Kendare_Blake">Kendare Blake</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/504492685">5 of 5 stars</a><br />
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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.<br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</blockquote>
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PARTY.<br />
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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!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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THE ENDING! I won't lie, I was hoping for this kind of ending for <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9256414.Hereafter" title="Hereafter by Tara Hudson">Hereafter</a> (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. <br />
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*Chuckles*<br />
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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...<br />
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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. <br />
Somehow. <br />
I'm not sure how my body was able to absorb this much awesomeness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BNMzqqjSkEU/UPhv3uZehtI/AAAAAAAABok/miRAvaeEToc/s1600/sweet+baby+penguins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="60" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BNMzqqjSkEU/UPhv3uZehtI/AAAAAAAABok/miRAvaeEToc/s320/sweet+baby+penguins.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet baby penguins! A 5-star!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4883387-zuleeza">View all my reviews</a><br />
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8520925910594964712.post-28183657826410107042013-01-15T23:30:00.000+10:302013-01-15T23:30:09.651+10:30Cover Reveal: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard + GIveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JMYT9-UrJD4/UOCz7UZJQhI/AAAAAAAAAp4/aUexpNlsA0k/s1600/TFO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JMYT9-UrJD4/UOCz7UZJQhI/AAAAAAAAAp4/aUexpNlsA0k/s640/TFO.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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The Forgotten Ones</div>
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Author: Laura Howard</div>
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Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance</div>
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Expected release date: May 15, 2013</div>
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Age Group: New Adult</div>
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Cover Designer: <a href="http://mooneydesigns.net/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Stephanie Mooney</span></a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16288155-the-forgotten-ones" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H-ps8CXxsGY/UOC422n95gI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/TTKQ3hTSWl0/s1600/goodreads-badge-add-plus-2d25bb0f32eeac8660c13a521cf00c8e.png" /></a></div>
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<b>Book Description:</b></div>
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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. </div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tBuQaoK5PwA/UAsnAahlNzI/AAAAAAAAAVI/c3Qz4OXb2kI/s1600/Avatar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tBuQaoK5PwA/UAsnAahlNzI/AAAAAAAAAVI/c3Qz4OXb2kI/s1600/Avatar.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.laurahoward78.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Laura Howard</span></a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/laurahoward78" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Facebook</span></a> | <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/laurahoward78" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span></div>
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Share on Facebook and/or Twitter and you could win a $50 Amazon (or B&N) Gift card!</div>
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Zuleezahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15826150824678691641noreply@blogger.com0