In My Mailbox (11)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by Kristi from The Story Siren where bloggers can share what books they've received and what they're planning on reviewing.

That awkward moment when you don't post anything for a week except an IMM.  I hope all of you guys who celebrate Thanksgiving had a good one though :)

This week I only received two books so I decided not to do a vlog or take a picture (sorry it's been a lazy week).

Books I won from the awesome Ivy @Ivy Reads

ARC of The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

ARC of Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

I also won some author designed bookmarks from the Haunted Halloween event hosted by Confessions of a Bookaholic and A Life Bound By Books.  It's a long story, but despite all my detective work, I'm not entirely sure which authors made some of the bookmarks since not all of them were signed or mentioned in the giveaway post, so sorry if I messed up!

Sorry you can't really see these, but from left to right...

Courtney King Walker

Leigh Fallon

Brenda Pandos

Lani Woodland (2 bookmarks)

Jennifer Castle

Jill Hathaway

Angeline Kace

Kristen Simmons

Victoria Schwab
Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

That's it for my mailbox, what was in yours this week? :)

In My Mailbox (10)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by Kristi from The Story Siren where bloggers can share what books they've received and what they're planning on reviewing.

It's been a while since I've done an IMM post... so here is what I've received in the past three months.



Books I've Received In The Past 3 Months:

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan from Daphne @Loving Books
How To Save a Life by Sara Zarr from Kristen @Kristen Pelfrey Writes
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly from Callie @Callie Kingston
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin from Jessie @Remarkable Reads
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
and The Survivors by Amanda Havard from Andrea @The Bookish Babes
Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton from April @Sim~Sational~Books
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink from Michelle Zink
Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith from Rachel @Fiktshun
The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade from Karen @For What It's Worth
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce from Lisa @A Life Bound By Books
Rosebush by Michele Jaffe from Gina @Writer's Blog
Audiobook of Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan from Mary @The Book Swarm

What did you get in your mailbox this week?  Leave me a comment if you want me to check it out!

Follow Friday (1)

Follow Friday is hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read. It's a great way to meet new bloggers and share awesome blogs!

I'm really not trying to be the "meme" blogger... Just taking baby steps back to blogging regularly.  I even added my own commentary!  Because I'm just one of those annoying people who needs to comment on everything.

This week question's is...

Question: Letter to Santa: Tell Santa what books you want for Christmas!

Books I've Read But Don't Own:

Harry Potter series (1-6) by JK Rowling

     I've only linked the first book.  But I figured you guys know what books I'm talking about. 

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

     This just happens to be one of my favorite books I've read this year.

Books I Haven't Read And Don't Own:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi 

     Me and Karina want this book like whoa.  We're planning a reading party where we can read it together and share in the awesomeness of it.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

      I'm technically reading this now... but I wish I had a copy just so I could complete my collection :)

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

      LOVED Anna, so I've been dying to read Lola!
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
      The sad thing is I was so pumped for the release of this book!  And it went by without me even noticing :(

Top Ten Tuesday (1) And Mini Update

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and Bookish blog!

Hello.  My name's April!  I'm today's guest blogge-- oh wait.  I'm a regular blogger.  That hasn't posted a review since July.  Yeah, me again.

I know Tuesday's almost over... but I saw that today was a pretty fun topic and decided I should join in :)  So here are the top ten books I've had on my shelf for a long while...

These books aren't YEARS old, since I've only started receiving more books than I could read for a year (when I discovered book blogs).  Before, my bookshelf was pretty sad... It was about 2 and half shelves, with one full shelf devoted to picture books and Magic Tree House...  I couldn't fathom how people had books in their bookshelf they had never read since I always immediately read a book I bought (which rarely happened).  Now I understand.

1.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
I have all the books combined into one handy dandy volume... and it's been sitting in my room for at least a year.  I've seen the movies (except Dawn Treader) and love them!  Even my brother, who's not a big reader, has read all of them.  And I know Karina's obsessed with the series... I've just never really gotten around to it.   But I shall!  One day...

2.  Vanish by Sophie Jordan
For the people who have read Firelight, you know it had a huge cliffhanger... and I've been DYING to know what happens.... I just haven't gotten around to reading this one yet :(  But soon my precious...

3.  Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
I can only think of 3 or 4 werewolf books I've read... but Nightshade is easily my favorite.  One of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE books in general of 2010, and I was dying to read the sequel... until I hit the grand reading slump of July.  I blame True Blood and school.  And I recently learned Bloodrose (the 3rd book) comes out in January... #weeps

4.  The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
I even have two copies of this book... I definitely stalked the author over the summer... the copy I'm keeping for myself is signed... I just never got to it :(

5.  Forgotten by Cat Patrick
Again, bad timing... ahhh most of these are because of bad timing. :(

6.  A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young
Again, this book came out at a bad time for me... I've heard good things about it...especially about the love interest.  *cough*

7.  Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
I'm pretty sure I even had two copies of this book... alas.  More bad timing.

8.  Losing Faith by Denise Jaden
I've had this book since last September... roughly around the time where I actually started winning some book giveaways.  I'm not a big fan of contemporary, not that I don't read it, it's just hard for me to fall in love with a contemporary book. One of these days I'm going to force myself to read all of the realistic fiction and contemps in bookshelf *gulps*.

9.  We Hear the Dead by Dianne Salerni
I remember I really wanted to read this book from visiting the author's blog last year.  It was one of the first author blogs I ever visited and I loved how personal authors got with their readers, one of the biggest reasons I joined twitter and visit author blogs :)

10. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Like I said before, I'm not a big contemporary reader... but it's pretty embarrassing that I've only read one John Green book and zero David Levithan books... hopefully I'll fix that with this book :)

These are the book actually on my bookshelf... the ones that I have not read that aren't on my bookshelf are kinda sad... *cough City of Fallen Angels cough*  I was trying to vote for a Goodreads award book and realized I've only read one book that came out the second half of this year.  BUT right now I'm reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, and yes, it is excellent!  You can check out Karina's review here.

Thank you to Karina and readers who have been putting up with my reading slump, social slump, and slumpy slumps for the past few months.  I'll try my best to post at least once a week, but I'm not exactly sure of my reviewing schedule... I don't know if I'll read books specifically for review anymore because honestly it sucks the joy out of reviewing for me when I have to.  And sometimes I really don't have anything to say about a book.  Okay, that's all, sorry again for being a fail blogger.  I'll try to start posting more often from now on!

Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages: 407
Publisher: Scholastic Press, hardcover

Goodreads Review:

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

My review:

Oh my gosh! This book was amazing! Just brilliant and amazing! I could not set it down for a second.

I don't know where to begin. I literally just finished this book like five minutes before I had to open up my laptop and begin this review. I am just in awe of it.

The Scorpio Races is the story of two people, Puck Connolly and Sean Kendrick who live on the island of Thisby. Told in their point of view, the tale entraps the reader with how their lives are on the island. But more importantly the Scorpio Races. Horse races that are held on the first of November along the Scorpio ocean, which always end with the sand tinted red.

Okay, so in the beginning I was slightly confused. Mostly because I jumped to conclusions and assumed the story wasn't taking place in current times. With the coloring and letters for the title, I assumed that it would take place a long time ago. Like when there were gods. Then I started to get slightly confused because the eldest brother worked at the hotel. But then I just got really confused when Puck was reading a magazine. I don't think it actually hit that it was taking time in present day until there was talk about a car. The tale just seemed so unlike these times that I couldn't help but think that I had been transported somewhere else.

Here's a question for everyone whose already read the book: do we know how old Puck is? Was it not said or did I just miss that?

The idea of water horses is just fascinating! For some reason I thought it was going to be about seahorses, but it wasn't. It was about horses that came from the sea. I'd never heard of such a thing! It blew my mind the entire time.

Okay so we all know that I'm a sucker for romance and I have to say that even though there really wasn't  any, I was extremely satisfied. The relationship that you see in the book are so profound that there really isn't a need for display. And by relationships I don't mean coupling. Like the relationship between Sean and Corr, man and beast, is just astounding.

The characters are great. They're not too mature for their age but their not like too naive either. For the kind of life they live, they were just right. I'm glad everyone got what was coming to them. *mumbles darky about Malvern*

Here's another question: Where exactly is Thisby? I mean, it's an island but how far is it from America? To me it sounded pretty far, because everyone in the book was just in awe of George Holly, the rich American from California.

It goes without saying that the writing is superb. I mean, it's Maggie Stiefvater!! Her writing it capturing that it makes the reader feel as if they were immersed into the world of the book.

I have a feeling that this maybe a single book, not the first of a series book, and if so I'm going very upset! Forever I shall be pondering the lives and how things turn out for our beloved characters.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Overall:

Did I fall in love with this book? Yes!!! I wish so badly that it wasn't a library book because I want to keep it next to my bed stand to read it forever and ever and ever!

Do I recommend it to others? YES!!! READ THIS BOOK! It's wonderful!

Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Forever
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages: 386
Publishers: Scholastic Press, Hardcover

Goodreads Summarry:
The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

My Review:

An end to a marvelous series.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater is the epic conclusion to the Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

Forever is a tempting book. I read it in spurts between homework, school and application writing because after each read it just left me renergized! This book is an emotional rollercoster, espcially near the end. I can not tell you how many times I was just holding my breath and waiting to see what would happen. The characters are as lovable and the story is as enrapturing as before. I'm sad to see the end to the series.

At the beginning, I thought it was going a bit slow, but I didn't think too much of it. Maggie Stiefvater is a wonderful author and writer and I knew she wasn't going to let me down. I don't enjoy many books that are in multiple POVs, but this is just perfect! You get into the mindset of each character and learn their fears and secrets. You see their love at first hand and it just makes you bond with the characters even more.

The story ties up nicely, answering questions and finishing things unsaid in the last books. It does what every book does, giving each character their deserved ending. Of course, not before sacrafices are made.

I just wish we knew in more detail about the wolves and the ending. Which ones?! I want to know, even though I have to believe, that Cole was right in the end.

Oh my gosh! Cole! He's such a great character! You learn his story and get to know him so much better in this book that by the end you have to say "oh Cole" with a smile.

Forever is the perfect way to end the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, and I'm just slightly saddened that this is the end of Sam and Grace and the rest of the characters.

Rating: 4.23/5

Overall:

Do I love this book? Maybe. It's really good and I know I'll most likely be reading it again.

Would I reccomend it to others? Yes! Why wouldn't I?

Review: Watched by Cindy M. Hogan

Title: Watched
Author: Cindy M. Hogan
Pages: 348
Publisher: Createspace, paperback, ARC version

Goodreads Summary:
It takes more than a school trip to Washington, D.C. to change fifteen-year-old Christy's life. It takes murder.

A witness to the brutal slaying of a Senator's aide, Christy finds herself watched not only by the killers and the FBI, but also by two hot boys.
She discovers that if she can't help the FBI, who want to protect her, it will cost her and her new friends their lives.

My review:

Don't read this book if you don't have an entire sitting to read it!

Sadly, I learned that the hard way. This attention grabbing novel was really good and I kept wanting to turn the page to find out what happened next, even if I was in class.

What I liked about Watched, was the reality of it. Taking place in D.C., Watched is about a girl and a group of seven students who were on a two week trip to the Capitol. Being witness of a murder scene, they're thrust into the dangers and mystery of it all.

Not a unique plot, but Cindy M. Hogan adds her own details that extract it from the rest.

The characters were unique in their own way. I didn't like how there was the sudden enrapture with "the hot", Alex, but I guess I like to see the slow progress of the relationship. Which is why I liked how the relationship was kind of forming with Rick. But then Christy had already been there for a couple days, and there is always that unexplainable attraction to someone. I know, I am deeply and totally in love with Alex Pettyfer, and other characters whose name shall not be revealed because I don't want to fight you for them. :)

I also loved how the relationship wasn't all intense. I mean, the girl is 15 years old! She doesn't have to know that she's meet the love of her life. Which of course, made me connect with the book so much more. You see the difficult decisions she makes between choosing, going about them like any 15 year old would do.

Now the story wasn't all romance. Cindy M. Hogan has written a book for both genders. Being a crime-mystery, there was danger and action. Heroics and disappointments. This book had everything one could ask for. It was well written, enjoyable and a real page turner.

Rating: 4.02/5

Did I fall in love with the book? No, but I will definitely be reading it again! It's one for the bookshelf
Would I recommend it to others? Of course, especially if you're into government plots, spies, action, and a little love.

Review: Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

Title: Mastiff
Author: Tamora Pierce
Pages: 560
Publisher: Random House Books, Hardcover

Goodreads Summary:
The Legend of Beka Cooper gives Tamora Pierce's fans exactly what they want—a smart and savvy heroine making a name for herself on the mean streets of Tortall's Lower City—while offering plenty of appeal for new readers as well.

Beka and her friends will face their greatest and most important challenge ever when the young heir to the kingdom vanishes. They will be sent out of Corus on a trail that appears and disappears, following a twisting road throughout Tortall. It will be her greatest Hunt—if she can survive the very powerful people who do not want her to succeed in her goal.

My Review:
Oh goodness, I definitely needed a refresh on what happened in Bloodhound, because I was pretty lost through some of it. (please excuse any misspelling errors, I'm half asleep as I write this) Nevertheless, Mastiff was eloquently captivating, from the funeral to the epilogue which made the series come full circle.

Mastiff was a good weekend read, especially since I got to see the author on Friday! But that's not what I'm here to write about.

Okay, so there's this really big surprise near the end which devastated me. Absolutely devastated me. I mean, I could see it coming but I never want it to be real! So be prepared for heartbreak.

There were just little things that bothered me, like the name Farmer. Don't get me wrong, I totally loved his character and I'm so glad he gets a HEA, but really, his name? I get it, but honestly, who wants to read about a mage named Farmer? And the lack of romance. Not gonna lie, that kind of bothered me. I know Tammy Pierce doesn't usually have a whole bunch, but after the last two Rebekah Cooper books, I was expecting some more. And just how it all ended. It was too quick, like tying up all the loose ends at once and just sudden. Also, Bekah really didn't speak much to the dust spinners or the dead, which made me sad.

Now, what I did like about the book.

Farmer. Oh he's just an amazing new character! I love him! He's so adorable! I can't get enough of that guy. I was so worried about him, all the time.

Achoo!! She plays a major role in this book and she's by far one of my more favorite characters.

How the book took place outside of Corus. The story takes you to places you've read in other Tortal books, while also taking you to places you've never heard of. It's kind of like visiting this new kind of Tortal.

The names! Oh my gosh the names, some are the same used in other books and I got really excited. Like how Gary came to be short for Gareth. Now that was definitely an interesting tale.

The tale itself was interesting. Not entirely original, but it came with its own spin to keep it interesting and true to the style of writing we expect from Pierce.

Overall, I give it three stars/five.

Did I fall in love with the book? No not really, but it was good story.
Would I recommend it to someone else? Of course, especially if your're a fan of her writing.

Don't forget to check out the giveaway! We're giving away a signed copy of Terrier, the first book in the Bekah Cooper Series.

Giveaway: Terrier by Tamora Pierce

So I just got back from seeing my all time favorite author at the library, Tamora Pierce! Ah I love her! You can ask April, I basically cried when I saw she was coming to visit. She was promoting her newest book, Mastiff, which is the 3rd book in the Becca Copper series.

What's great about this series, is that it doesn't really tie in with the other Tortall books she's written, since it takes at least 200 years before Alanna the First Adventure. Which means, all of you haven't had the chance to read Tamora Pierce, can do so now! With the first book! Which we're giving away!

Unfortunately, she hurt her hand so the books were signed by a stamp (which makes it look like her actual sig,) and her fingerprint. But it was totally better than nothing at all.

Guys, she's really funny and fun to listen to. She's not only a batman fan, but she thinks we're all crazy for doing NaNoWriMo. In a good way, of course. I mean I'm crazy, and I haven't even hit 1k words yet. (On a side note, be my writing buddy at nanowrimo.com and my name is cookiesanonymus').

Here's the sypnosis to Terrier:

Tamora Pierce begins a new Tortall trilogy introducing Beka Cooper, an amazing young woman who lived 200 years before Pierce's popular Alanna character. For the first time, Pierce employs first-person narration in a novel, bringing readers even closer to a character that they will love for her unusual talents and tough personality.

Beka Cooper is a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost's Guard, and she's been assigned to the Lower City. It's a tough beat that's about to get tougher, as Beka's limited ability to communicate with the dead clues her in to an underworld conspiracy. Someone close to Beka is using dark magic to profit from the Lower City's criminal enterprises—and the result is a crime wave the likes of which the Provost's Guard has never seen before.

So enter to win! Giveaway goes on to the end of the month, and it's US only!
Be patient as the Rafflecopter giveaway form loads, I promise I did put it up!

In My Mailbox (9)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by Kristi from The Story Siren where bloggers can share what books they've received and what they're planning on reviewing.

Oh my goodness. So this is not going so well. Junior year is sucking the life of me. Literally. But, guess what, I have a great In My Mailbox! It's kind of a collection of the past two months. And, my librarian went to a book convention the other day and came back with some goodies for me to pre-read. So here's a pic, because I thought it was beautiful. :D


Look at all these books!!!! Aren't they marvelous?

This is what they are if you can't read the picture:

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stivefvater

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Beauty Pop 5-7 (manga) by Arai Kiyoko

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Behemoth by Scott Westerfield

Jealousy; Defiance; Betrayals (Strange Angels series #3,4,2 ) by Lili St. Crow

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Infinte Days by Rebecca Maizel

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Girl Parts by John M. Cusick

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Wow that was a lot to write...and it took me so long too. Sorry I didn't post any links to goodreads for each book, but I'm writing this at like midnight and I'm very tried but I had to get it done or else it would never get done.

What's in your Mailbox?