November TBR pile + Just Contemporary Month!!

Just Contemporary Month is Hosted by: Ashley from Basically Amazing Books and Shannon from Chick Loves Lit, you all should join in on the fun!!!

Review: Between The Sea and Sky by: Jaclyn Dolamore

ReadingNook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I didn't honestly really know what to think going into this book, paranormals can be either a hit or miss for me, and i've never read a book regarding mermaids, but loved The Little Mermaid as a child, and thought maybe this book would bring me back to that time, which it did. I loved that the main character Esmerine loved books, I found her extremely likable and relateble from the start of the story to the very end.

This story follows Esmerine through becoming a siren, only to find that her older sister Dosia who's told her previously that she's travelled to land to meet with humans, is missing and is assumed that she's been kidnapped and made into a wife to a human man against her will. Esme travels to the land to help find her sister, and to see if what they think happened to her, really happened or if she is indeed happy. Esme meets up with a childhood friend, Alander, and together they search for Dosia.

I loved the relationship between Esme and Alander, who was a childhood friend who brought her books as a youngster, and found their relationship to be true and not cheesy as some books would portray young love. 

I loved the ending of this book as well, exactally what I wanted to happen, happened and I couldn't be happier with it, I'm not sure if this book is a series or not, but i'm definitly hoping it is, because I would love more from these characters, and the world that Dolamore created. Dolamore created such a magical world and characters with her writing, and i'm left with a feeling of wanting more. I also wish there was more depth into the Sky with Alander, but maybe if there is a sequel, thats where the focus will be? one can only hope! if your a fan of YA, paranormal romance, or even just mermaids, you definitely should pick this one up, it won't let you down.

ChickLit Plus Blog Tours: Review of- Our Eyes Met Over Cantaloupe by: Anne McAneny

ReadingNook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Let me start my saying that I completly judged this book by the cover before I read it, I thought to myself that this was going to be a cheesy story with no substance and I thought it would maybe be a 200 page book and blow through it without really investing in any of the characters. BUT  I was wrong, and proved the point once again that you should never judge a book by its cover. 

This book was delicious (literally all the talk of cupcakes made me want to go bake some), at times downright hilarious (can't remember the last time a book seriously made me laugh out loud), and had everything a good chick-lit novel should. 

The main character Millicent aka Millie aka Millipede, is your typical chick-lit protaginist, she was easy to relate too and everywhere she turned another issue smacked her in the face, including her ex- boyfriend, Sam, and his crazy fiancee' Laura (Yay a character named Laura, too bad she was a little nutty, lol) Millie faces up and downs with relationships in the book, but ends up happy in the end, and I loved the overall decision of who to be with in the end. 

The story for me was entertaining, and proves the point again, that you should never judge a book by a cover, because if you do, sometimes you miss out on rare gems, and thats a disservice to yourself!! This book reminded me of why I fell in love with the chick-lit genre a long time ago, because why wouldn't you want a book that could make you laugh, tug at your heart strings a bit, and practically drool over the yummyness of the cupcake talk!! 

* Go check out chicklitplus.com where you can read other bloggers reviews, as well as enter a giveaway for yummy cupcakes, and a $10 amazon giftcard!!! 

SpookTacular Giveaway!! (CLOSED)

I finally decided to join in the fun on giveaway hops and host a spot of my own!! My giveaway is for the following books:

(Finished Copy)

(ARC Copy)

One winner will win both books!!

Rules: 

*Being a follower is not required, although i'd love it if you were
*US only
*Fill out form below (one entry per person)
*Contest Ends Oct. 31st

IMM week ending Oct. 23rd

IMM is a Meme hosted by Kristi over @TheStorySiren.com where you show the books you got over the week. IMM UPDATE: 0k so because I didn't have an IMM last week, and was planning on filming an IMM of epic proportions and because of unforseen events that couldn't happen, im going to strictly show what I recieved IMM this  Past week and promise you guys that during the week I will film a EPIC book haul or have an EPIC IMM next week. For Review: Won/Bought: AudioBook won from The Bookish Babes Blog!!! Thank You!! Bought from Amazon, but with a $10 giftcard I won from ChickLit Plus!!  Thanks to the Bookish Babes, HarperCollins, and Chick Lit Plus!

Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours: Whispers From the Heart by: Heather Hummel

ReadingNook Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

If your looking for a fun, light-hearted, romance with some heartfelt issues, then this novel is right up your alley. 

Madison was a fun, relatable character, she has trust issues with men esp. because of her ex, Rick, who was borderline abusive and neglectiful of her, and who left her a bit scorned and bitter. This book deals with many important issues such as suicide and abusive relationships and for those issues that were discussed in the book, I really enjoyed the novel. 

Now lets talk about the romantic aspect of this book, this for me was what lead to the three star rating. The whole story builds up budding relationship between Madison, and Phil. They both seem to have fallen hard for each other and three-quaters of the book builds up this relationship, yet there's this "weird, stalkerish" man who pops up everywhere throughout the story, wherever Madison is, so is he and within the last thirtyish pages of the book she drops "Good Guy" Phil and falls for the stalker? with little to no closure with Phil, it was just over and I didn't get it, it threw the whole story off for me. 

There was a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book, in fact if Michael (the stalker) didn't exsist at all in the story I honestly think the book would have had a higher rating from me. I've read other reviews and nobody else mentioned this, so maybe the relationship dynamic was just a personal problem that didn't sit well with me, I would definitely give this book a try, esp. if your a fan of the Chick-Lit genre.

Book Review: Past Perfect by: Leila Sales

ReadingNook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I originally heard about this book because of some of my fellow blogger friends! They told me I had to read Leila Sales, and because i'd heard nothing but good things, I knew I needed to give this author a try.

Leila wrote such a unique and interesting YA contemporary, yes maybe the overall theme and plot line were similar to many other contemps out there, but the setting in a colonial re-enactment village. Ever since 5th grade or so i've had a huge interest in the colonial time period, so this book seemed fresh and new, and I couldn't think of another YA that had this element in the story.

The main character Chelsea was snarky and realistic, and as teen-like as I could have imagined her to be. There's some Teen Angst, as well as tones of jealousy, lying, and betrayal, and of course the swoon-worthy Dan from across the way (A Civil War Re-enactment Village), who causes a far share of drama.

If you like contemporary, this is a fun, interesting, and unique story by Leila Sales. The setting made for an interesting twist on the story, and her writing style rang true to that of a teenage girl. I definitely need to get my hands on Mostly Good Girls now, and Thank God my friends told me to read some Leila Sales!!

Waiting on Wendsday (4)

Goodreads Summary: After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend Ilven kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven's death has called out of the sea a dangerous wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg's caste system, and the whole city along with it.  


Expected Publication Date: Febuary 28th, 2012 


Why I Want to Read This Book:  This book just sounds so mysterious and intriging. The cover is creepy and beautifully morbid, and It sounds like it's a story that would keep you up late at night flipping through the pages. 

100th Post!! Book Review + Giveaway of: Everything We Ever Wanted by: Sara Shepard (CLOSED)

ReadingNook Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

This book was my first novel by Sara Shepard that i've read, and was really excited to read it, but was let down. I felt that the storyline was all over the place and wish it focused on one main issue instead of having a million different issues being highlighted.

Sylvie Bates-McAllister is a recent widow with two sons, one of which is biological (Charlie) while the other is a mixed boy that was adopted (Scott). Sylvie recieves a phone call from the well-known prep school that her grandfather founded that a boy was found dead and they believed it was a suicide due to hazing being comminted by members of the school wrestling team, which her adopted son, Scott coaches. 

This book focuses on many issues, and many of which are important issues, but personally I wish the story focused more on the hazing and assumed suicide of the student, which is what I thought the book was primarly about, but so many more issues are involved in this book, adultery, racial issues, secret pasts, etc. It was a decent story, but just a bit of a miss for me. I felt like nothing was coming to play because the story was all over the place and so many smaller issues were being discussed rather then that main issue at hand.

I'm interested to read Sara Shepard's YA series, Pretty Little Liars and the Lying Games, and because I've heard so many good things about this series, I think maybe Sara Shepard's voice is that of a YA author and less of an Adult Fiction writer, and maybe her YA books will be more enjoyed by me! 

Because this is my 100th post, and because I didn't LOVE this book, i'm going to be giving away my ARC copy to one follower of my blog!! (this is my ARC that I read so it's not in perfect condition) 

Rules:

* Must be a follower

*Please leave email address in a comment below, and telling me what you'd like to see on my blog or that you think i should change!

*US/Canada only

*Winner will be chosen on Oct 31st at Midnight EST using Random.org

IMM week ending Oct. 9th

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at thestorysiren.com, where you show the books you got in your mailbox for the week!! For Review:  (All thanks to Simon and Schuster, plus they sent some books for giveaways as well!!) Bought: Traded: (Traded with Kelsey at The Book Scout) Won: (Won this from Barbara @BasiaBookshelf.com) Thats it for me this week, what did you guys get in your mailbox??

Waiting on Wendsday (3)

Goodreads Summary:


Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie? 

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. 

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, steampunk meets romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

Why I Cannot Wait For This Book: umm Hello?? look at the freakin' cover!!! it's absolutly stunning!! But come on some dystopian elements, with a steampunk twist, and zombies and romance all in ONE BOOK??!!! thats crazyness, and I know this book is highly anticipated for a lot of people, but I cannot wait for this one!!! 

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

                    ReadingNook Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

As soon as I heard the premise for Legend, I knew I had to have it. I immediately added it to my wishlist, and entered every contest I could to get my hands on a copy (honestly I think I entered close to 100 giveaways for this book, because I knew I couldn't wait for the release date) I finally won a copy through a facebook giveaway, and devoured it as soon as it came in the mail. It was all I had hoped for and more!! 


This story alternates between two different POV's between Day, the republic criminal who is always in the center of devious and criminal situations, and June who is highly respected in the republic because of her older brother as well as her level of intellegence. When June's older brother is murdered and Day is being blamed both of their worlds turn upside down, But was Day really to blame or was he simply set up to cover a deeper darker secret? 

Marie Lu created such a unique and genius setting for a Dystopian world. I loved it, It was everything I had hoped for and then some. I can't wait for the second installment! There was a mixture of drama, and a love that was reminiscant of Romeo and Juliet because of Day and June being from different sides of the tracks and were known enemies, it had a mix of everything a Dystopian Novel should be. Marie Lu blew me away with her Debut and she is going to be a huge name in YA novels, I'm just calling that now. If you like Dystopian novels then this book needs to be on the top of your wishlist!!

IMM week of Oct. 1st

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at thestorysiren.com, where you show the books you got in your mailbox for the week!!  For Review: (All thanks to Bloomsbury) (Both Signed thanks to Lory Kaufman!!) (Signed thanks to Amy Kathleen Ryan and Publisher) WON: (Signed thanks to Jo Knowles and Debbi from DEBtastic Reads) (Signed thanks to Krista over at CubicleBlindness and Lani Woodland) GIFTED: (Finished Copy thanks again to Krista at CubicleBlindness) (Thanks to Laura over at BooksarePreciousGems) EBOOKS FOR REVIEW: (Thanks to Michelle Madow!) Another Massive Crazy Week, don't know if I'll ever get my TBR pile down!! but its worth trying!!!