Leap Into Books Giveaway Hop

Celebrate Leap Day by Entering 200 Great Giveaways!

Leap into Books Giveaway Hop

February 29th to March 5th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Jinky is Reading

I'll be giving away a copy of Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep. It's easy to enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is INT'L!! Don't forget to enter the other giveaways in the hop! 

At Mythos Academy, teen warriors in the making train to take up their roles protecting humankind. With her snarky, self-deprecating voice and strange gift of psychometry - the ability to know an object's history just by touching it - Gwen Frost is an outsider both to the students of the Academy and the rest of the world. But now that she's taking private tutoring with the Academy's most notorious young Spartan, and has Nike's own sword to protect her, she's ready to make mark...

Perception (Clarity #2) by Kim Harrington

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past. 


Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her. 


But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

Perception was amazing! I loved Clarity but Perception was 10 times better. When I finished reading Clarity I felt like I needed to see more of Clare’s abilities. In Perception I got what I’d ask for. I got more of everything, really. In this sequel we see more character development. I thought that Clare was the character that grew the most. When she became somewhat popular she was still the same humble and funny person than before. She has this feisty personality that I adore, and she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.

Perception is not a big book, but Harrington uses those 288 pages extraordinarily well. Sometimes when you are reading a book there’s like, these periods of time where nothing happens, you are not going to find those boring moments in Perception. From page one you get sucked into this book and there’s no way you want to stop reading. Unfortunately I had to stop for a couple of hours. You know to, umm… be a normal human being and sleep, work and whatnot. While at work I was literally counting down the minutes to go home and read Perception.

Plotwise I can’t really say much because I’ll be giving away something, and where’s the fun in that? I’ll tell you one thing, if I had a heart attack while reading Perception I would’ve blame Harrington. My heart was pounding so hard at moments I thought that maybe I needed a 5 minute break before I passed out. I found myself yelling in my head so many things, here’s an example:

“RUN”

“Oh, no!”

“HIDE”

“Oh C’mon Clare, don’t go in there”

“awwwww”

“NOOOOOO”

And I think you get the drift. So, what are you waiting for? This book is freaking amazing!


Amazon/Goodreads

My Favorite Mistake by Catherine Hapka, Georgina Bloomberg

Tommi, Zara, and Kate are all elite riders on the A Circuit. Tommi, the billionaire heiress, is training a young horse to prove she can make horses a real career. But when her new beau, Alex, convinces her to skip a horse show to party in the Hamptons, the results could be disastrous. Zara, the celebutante wild child, is finally taking her riding seriously. Until the new "nanny" her dad hires threatens to upstage Zara's party girl status. Then there's Kate. She doesn't have money to burn like the others, but she does have Fitz, the barn's resident hot guy. But when the pressure of being a working student builds, Kate's perfectionist tendencies threaten to get in the way of her relationship and her riding.

Readers who are growing out of the Canterwood Crest series or searching for an A-list fix have found just what they're looking for in the A Circuit series.


I never knew much about horse shows, but I do love horses. My Favorite Mistakes gives you an insider view into the world of horse shows. Which is a very competitive world by the way. Who would have known that there could be so much drama in a barn? And guess who likes reading all that juicy drama? You got it, me!

I think most people will agree that Kate is the most likable character out of the bunch. She does have her flaws, but I relate with her the most. Tommi was a little annoying at times. She was putting her dreams on hold for a guy. Ugh! Zara and I did NOT click at all. I just wanted to slap her silly most of the time. I’m guessing that’s how the authors wanted us to feel while reading this book though.

My Favorite Mistake is fast paced and once you start reading it  you won't want to put it down . If you love horses and drama this is the book for you! 

Thanks to Bloomsbury USA Childrens I'm giving away a copy of My Favorite Mistake. To enter fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Sorry US only. Ends 3/12/12

Terrible Thursday #3: Nightlight: A Parody

Terrible Thursday is a weekly meme hosted and created by bookittyblog. Here I will feature one book that had a Terrible day. Either because it had a bunch of bad reviews and I loved it or everybody else loved it and I did not.

 Author: The Harvard Lampoon

 Published November 3rd 2009 by Vintage

About three things I am absolutely certain.
First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.
Second, there was a vampire part of him--which I assumed was wildly out of his control--that wanted me dead.
And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

Pale and klutzy, Belle Goose arrives in Switchblade, Oregon, looking for adventuree, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strang events--Edwart leaves his Tater Tots untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!--Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convine Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, escecially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

Man, I was hoping to like this one. I think a read about 30 pages and I couldn't finish. Did you guys read that summary? It's hilarious! Too bad the book wasn't. The first few pages were funny and the rest was more like blah. 

Do you guys read parodies of books you love? 

Amazon/Goodreads 

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Some schools have honor codes.

Others have handbooks.

Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way-the Themis way. So when Alex Patrick is date-raped during her junior year, she has two options: Stay silent and hope someone helps, or enlist the aid of the Mockingbirds-a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of the student body.

In this account of a teenage girl's search for her voice and the courage to use it, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that standing up for someone, especially yourself, is worth the fight.


I read some reviews of The Mockingbirds and not all of them were good. Of course when I started reading this book I was looking for "the bad". Fortunately I didn't find anything wrong with it. Most of you know that the mockingbirds deal with date rape. At first I thought it was going to be a depressing read but as I kept reading it felt more of an inspirational read.

The writing was light and the message was strong. What fascinated me the most were the mockingbirds. I loved how the characters dealt with a situation so serious as date rape. They had a pretty awesome justice system going on. You'll see what I'm talking about when you read the book.

I seriously recommend The Mockingbirds. When you read it make sure to read the authors notes. I got goose bumps while reading it. I loved this book.

Have you read The Mockingbirds? What do you think about their justice system?



Amazon/Goodreads

Terrible Thursday #2: Modelland

Terrible Thursday is a weekly meme hosted and created by bookittyblog. Here I will feature one book that had a Terrible day. Either because it had a bunch of bad reviews and I loved it or everybody else loved it and I did not.

Author: Tyra Banks

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 13, 2011)

No one gets in without being asked. And with her untamable hair, large forehead, and gawky body, Tookie De La Crème isn’t expecting an invitation. Modelland—the exclusive, mysterious place on top of the mountain—never dares to make an appearance in her dreams. 


But someone has plans for Tookie. Before she can blink her mismatched eyes, Tookie finds herself in the very place every girl in the world obsesses about. And three unlikely girls have joined her. 


Only seven extraordinary young women become Intoxibellas each year. Famous. Worshipped. Magical. What happens to those who don’t make it? Well, no one really speaks of that. Some things are better left unsaid.
Thrown into a world where she doesn’t seem to belong, Tookie glimpses a future that could be hers—if she survives the beastly Catwalk Corridor and terrifying Thigh-High Boot Camp. Or could it? Dark rumors like silken threads swirl around the question of why Tookie and her new friends were selected . . . and the shadows around Modelland hide sinister secrets.

Are you ready? Modelland is waiting for you. . .


I haven't read Modelland but I've read the reviews and apparently the book is not that good. I spend almost 2 hours reading bad reviews of Modelland and to be honest, I enjoyed those 2 hours. I love when reviewers feel passionate about a book. When we feel this way we want to write a review with details (not spoilers) about what we loved or hated about the book. 


I don't think I'll be reading Modelland anytime soon. I read some parts of it while reading reviews and it was confusing. If any of you have read Modelland and loved or hated it feel free to leave a link to your review in the comment section. Oh, and make sure to listen to the creepy Modelland theme song.

Amazon/Goodreads 

In My Mailbox #5

In My Mailbox (weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren)

I haven't done an In My Mailbox post in 2 or 3 weeks. So, in this post you'll see what I got in the past month.

For review:

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney Amazon/Goodreads

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney Amazon/Goodreads

The Savage Grace by Bree Despain Amazon/Goodreads

Pure by Julianna Baggott Amazon/Goodreads/Review-Giveaway

My Favorite Mistake by Catherine Hapka, Georgina Bloomberg Amazon/Goodreads

Bought:

Because of Low by Abbi Glines Amazon/Goodreads

Do or Di by Eileen Cook Amazon/Goodreads 

And these 2 unfortunately are not for me :( But I did buy them. LOL! 

Judy Moody Was in a Mood by Megan McDonald Amazon/Goodreads

Judy Moody Gets Famous! by Megan McDonald Amazon/Goodreads

Terrible Thursday #1: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Terrible Thursday is a weekly meme hosted and created by bookittyblog. Here I will feature one book that had a Terrible day. Either because it had a bunch of bad reviews and I loved it or everybody else loved it and I did not.

Pages read: 108 of 452 (Kindle)

Published: 9/27/11

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

Amazon/Goodreads 

For this week’s Terrible Thursday I’m picking The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. So a few months ago when Mara got published reviewers were going crazy about it. I mean they were going wild. So I had to give it a try and unfortunately I didn’t like it. I guess it was a combination of all that hype and me wanting something extraordinary out of the book. To me Mara Dyer wasn’t all that good. I tried so hard to like it but I couldn't even finish it.

So what did you guys think of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? Did you guys enjoy it? Should I go back and give it another shot? 

Pure by Julianna Baggott Review and Giveaway!!

 We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

I’m going to admit that I was a little intimidated by Pure. Partly because of it’s size (400+ pages). When you read this book you have to give it your all. Let me tell you this, I got lost in it’s dark world and I was scared, excited and a bunch of other feelings at the same time. I loved it. This book makes you think: What if something like this happens? Right after I had that though, I wanted to go dig a hole and hide. This is scary you guys!

The writing is beautiful and graphic. When I think of the writing, what first comes to my mind is: Food for your imagination. Does that make any sense? It’s just so descriptive and vivid that you can see every single character in your head. Baggot doesn’t just know how to write and make characters come to life, she also makes the world around them come to life. When I read and I can see in my head what I’m reading like a movie, I know I’ve got an amazing book in my hands.



I don’t want to give anything away but I would love to tell you guys a little bit about the characters in Pure. So, everyone out of the Dome got fused to whatever was close to them when the detonations went off. Take Pressia for example, her hand is fused to a doll head. Isn’t that crazy? How did the author come up with that? The mutilations don’t end there. When I said they got fused to whatever was closed to them I meant ANYTHING! There are the groupies who are fused to other people, there are people who are fused to animals and so on and so forth.

Anyway, Pure is crazy good. If you like dark and awesome this is the book for you.


Amazon/Goodreads


Here are some awesome drawings by my friend Jocelyn. Both are Pressia and her doll hand. 

Now with the giveaway. Thanks the publisher I'm giving away a copy of Pure! To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. One winner will be chosen on 3/8/12. Sorry US only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 Books I Added To My TBR Pile. Week #1

Above by Leah Bobet

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (April 1, 2012)

Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee's wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above—like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.

But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe's history and the shadows' attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home—not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.
Amazon/Goodreads



Undeadly by Michele Vail
Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (November 20, 2012)

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath.

Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Who seems to hate her guts.

Rath will be watching closely to be sure she completes her first assignment-reaping Rick, the boy who should have died. The boy she still wants to be with.

To make matters worse, students at the academy start turning up catatonic, and accusations fly—against Molly. The only way out of this mess? To go through hell. Literally. 

Amazon/Goodreads

Madly by M.Leighton

Publisher: M. Leighton Books (November 7, 2011)

Madly is your average nearly-eighteen year old girl—for a mermaid princess, that is. 

Madly James is thoroughly enjoying her internship in Slumber when the unthinkable happens—there’s a prison break in Atlas, Madly’s home beneath the sea. A traitor has set free eight Lore, the spirits of what humans know as fairy tales, and they are making their way to Slumber to awaken their descendants.

In order to save her home, the lives of her family, and all of humanity, Madly must learn to wield her exceptional powers and recapture the Lore before it’s too late and all is lost. But Madly’s only help are her two best friends and the Sentinel that threatens both her heart and her destiny. Can she resist love to become the queen she was fated to be? Or can she find a way to have both?

This novelette introduces you to Madly and prepares you for the quest of a lifetime

Amazon/Goodreads

Renegade by J.A. Souders

Published 2012 by Tor

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.
But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Goodreads

The Elf Girl by Markelle Grabo

 Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (February 15, 2011)

With her pale skin, emerald eyes, and pointy ears, Ramsey's life has never been normal. When she learns that she is an elf, things take a turn for the strange and perilous. Ramsey must rescue the sister she never knew in order to unlock the secrets of her past, secrets that could determine the outcome of a dangerous war between fairies and elves. And in order to discover herself, Ramsey must accept her magical destiny.

Amazon/Goodreads

UnConventional by Various Authors

It's about to get weird... okay, weirder in here.

Alien ascensions in hotel ballrooms.
Mermaids on cruise ships.
Werewolves in dog shows.
Steampunk fairy time travelers.
A teenage superhero hitching a ride with a supervillain.
Comic books that absorb their readers.
Magical filk... and much more.

With stories by: LJ Berger, Vikki Ciaffone, Daniel Cohen, Gordon Dupuis, Anthony G. Francis, Jr., Justine Graykin, Randy O. Green, Melina Gunnett, Kate Kaynak, Danielle M. LeFevre, Kimberley Long-Ewing, Lauren Marrero, Will Morton, LS Murphy, Ira Nayman, KT Pinto, Jennifer Allis Provost, Patricia Puckett, Keshia Swaim, Sherry Thompson, Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg, and Trisha Wooldridge

I think UnConventional is the second anthology I’ve ever read. The thing is that these books don’t call my attention. Why invest my time reading short stories when I can be reading a whole book? But when I saw that Spencer Hill was going to publish an anthology and Kate Kaynak was one of the authors, I had to give it a try. And Oh. My. God. I loved it! There are some pretty awesome authors in this book. I’m not gonna lie, some stories I didn’t get. With 20 plus authors with different writing styles, there’s always going to be 1 or 2 you are not going to like. 

There are a few stories I couldn’t get out of my head and enjoyed reading very much. This is my reaction at the end of each of those stories: “Noooooo! Why did it end? I need more NOW! And here they are:

Family Ties by Keshia Swaim

Myrtle by Melina Gunnett

The Sirens by Danielle M. LeFevre

Beast in Show by Kate Kaynak

So, These Monsters Walk into a Con by Patricia Puckett

The Ascension by Daniel A. Cohen

Firestorm by LS Murphy

Steampunk Fairy Chick by Anthony Francis

You guys need to read this book! Not only the stories are amazing but check out those titles, they are awesome!! It is a great read and you go from one awesome story to another in less than 30 minutes. So, what are you waiting for?

Amazon/Goodreads

Terrible Thursday

Next week I will be starting Terrible Thursday. Please read the post and let me know what you guys think. 

Terrible Thursday is a weekly meme hosted and created by bookittyblog. Here I will feature one book that had a Terrible day. Either because it had a bunch of bad reviews and I loved it or everybody else loved it and I did not. 

How Terrible Thursday works: 

-This meme was created to interact with my followers, to get to know you guys better and have fun.

-I plan on posting only a couple sentences as to why I did or did not like a particular book feature on "Terrible Thursday". 

-If you'd like to participate, just grab the "Terrible Thursday" button, mention bookittyblog, and leave your link in the comment section. 

-There are no rules as to what we can feature on "Terrible Thursday". It can be an awesome story with a terrible title, or cover, or a not-so-awesome story with an amazing cover. I will be mainly featuring books that either I couldn't read past 100 pages and everybody loved or Books that I did loved but mainly got bad reviews. 

I would love to hear what you guys think of Terrible Thursday! Do you think Terrible Thursday will be a good Thursday, or a terrible idea? :)

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Bound

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine. Here I will tell you of one upcoming book I can’t wait to read.

So, I just finished book 2 in the series and it was amazing! Read review here. I can not wait for Bound to come out! If you haven't read Torn and Tangled, please don't read the summary. Just look at the pretty cover. :) Watch my Dream Cast for Torn/Tangled here.

Publisher: Kensington (June 26, 2012)
Author: Erica O'Rourke 

"I beat you. Twice. No magic, and I still beat you. And that was when I didn't know what I was doing." I smiled, cold as the winter sky outside. "Imagine what I'm capable of now."

Mo Fitzgerald has made her choice: A life in Chicago. A future with Colin. To leave behind the enigmatic Luc and the world of the Arcs. But every decision she's made, from avenging her best friend's death to protecting the people she loves, has come at a terrible price.

As her father returns from prison and the Seraphim regroup, war breaks out in both her worlds. And Mo isn't the only one with secrets to hide and choices to make. The more she struggles to keep her magic and mortal lives separate, the deadlier the consequences. In the end, Mo must risk everything—her life, her heart, her future—or lose it all.


Amazon/Goodreads