IMM (36)

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren. IMM is where I post the books I won, received for review, bought, borrowed, or ect.  

I had another slow week but still excited by what I got! I bought the box set of the Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard at Waldenbooks. I had a 40% off coupon and the box set was $29.99, so I got the first 4 books for $17.99! It was an amazing deal and a lot cheaper than buying them individually. I'm excited to read them, hopefully before the ABC Family show starts. Here's the book description & picture from Amazon:

  Among the mega mansions and perfectly manicured hedges of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, everyone has something to hide—especially four very pretty little liars.

High school juniors Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily have been keeping secrets ever since their best friend, Alison DiLaurentis, disappeared three years ago. But when the girls begin receiving threatening notes from someone named “A,” their secrets—the big ones, the little ones, even the long-buried ones—no longer seem so safe.

Unravel the Pretty Little Liars’ wildest mysteries in this special box set. But remember, nothing is as it seems in Rosewood . . . 

 

Impossible DNF Review

Title: Impossible

Author: Nancy Werlin

Pages: 384
 Publisher: Dial; First Edition edition

Publication Date: September 18, 2008

My Edition: Hardback

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Fantasy and Romance

Borrowed from: the Library 

Summary from author's website:

Lucy is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child's birth. But Lucy is the first girl who won't be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents beside her. And she has Zach, whose strength amazes her more each day. Do they have enough love and resolve to overcome an age-old evil?

Inspired by the ballad "Scarborough Fair," Impossible combines suspense, fantasy, and romance.

Review:

Unfortunately, Impossible is one of my first DNF (Did Not Finish) books since I started my blog. I checked it out at the library and started reading it right away. I really liked it in the beginning but for some reason, I just couldn't get into it or want to keep reading. After renewing twice and reading it for almost a month and not getting very far, I felt I should stop trying and move on to a new book since it was due and couldn't renew it again.

I really don't now why I couldn't finish it because it was exciting and a genre I really enjoy reading. I definitely will give it another try in the future because the story line is highly original, and I loved the writing style. It is so clever and neat to write a book off a song ballad! I really like Simon and Garfunkle's version of Scarborough Fair, so it was really interesting to read a story based off a version of that song written many, many years ago. I know many have enjoyed this book and hope I can too at some point. I really wish I could have finished it but will try again soon. DNF : (

Rating:
DNF - No rating

Waiting on Wednesday (37)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that I'm eagerly awaiting. This week I can't wait for Elixir by Hilary Duff! I loved Hilary Duff when I was little, so I'm very intrigued to see what her book will be like. The summary sounds very good, and the cover is so gorgeous! I'm excited to read it when it comes out this fall on October 12, 2010!

Elixir 
By: Hiliary Duff

Description from Goodreads:

As the daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington D.C. politician, Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. And though she dreads the paparazzi who track her every move, she herself is a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world.

But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful young man begin to appear in Clea’s photos—a man she has never seen in her life.

When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond.

Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.

IMM (35), New Twitter, and LOST Series Finale!

Hey everyone, hope you all had a great weekend! I'm very excited and sad for the LOST series finale. I've been a HUGE fan since the beginning about six years ago. I can't imagine how it will all end. 

Anyways, I finally got a Twitter account for my blog! I don't really know how it all works, but you can follow me @AddctdBookReadr!

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In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren. IMM is where I post the books I won, received for review, bought, borrowed, or ect. Since I only got one book this week, I just posted a picture of the cover and description from Goodreads. Here is the book I got this week for review from the author Amanda Hocking!

My Blood Approves
 By: Amanda Hocking

Seventeen-year-old Alice Bonham's life feels out of control after she meets Jack. With his fondness for pink Chuck Taylors and New Wave hits aside, Jack's unlike anyone she's ever met. He does things shouldn't even be humanly possible, but she can't help but feel safe with him.Then she meets his brother, Peter. His emerald eyes pierce through her, and she can barely breathe when he's around. Even though he can't seem to stand the sight of her, she feels drawn to him. But falling for two very different guys isn't even the worst of her problems. Jack's family holds a secret, one that threatens to Alice with mortal danger.

 

The Duff Review: A 2010 Debut Author Challenge Book

Title: The Duff: Designated Fat Ugly Friend

Author: Kody Keplinger

Pages: 288
 Publisher: Poppy

Publication Date: September 7, 2010

My Edition: ARC Paperback

Reading Level: YA, 15+
(lots of sexual and language content)
Challenge Read for: 2010 Debut Author Challenge

Received from: Hip Scouts for review 

Summary from Amazon: 

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Review:

Wow, The Duff was a hilarious, sweet story filled with friendship, boys, love, and family issues. The title alone (which is a term I've never heard but love it now) made me want to start reading it instantly...which I did! I couldn't believe when I found out the author, Kody Keplinger, is only eighteen and just started college. The novel was very well-written and had great descriptions and dialogue, so I absolutely can't wait to read more from her in the future! I starting reading it late at night and finished the next day. It is very fast-paced, and I loved every second of it.


The main character Bianca is unfortunately the "duff" of her friends. She comes to realize this after a jerky guy, aka Mr. Too Full of Himself named Wesley, tells this to her at a local teen club and nicknames her Duffy. The term starts to run her life and their newly forming relationship. Some family problems with her parents turn her life upside down, and she turns to a guy to get mind off things. Bianca is very realistic & knows how things are and is a tad pessimistic. Wesley is a play boy who does every girl and starts to like Bianca even though she is the Duff. Funny enough, they are actually perfect together but don't know this themselves. Bianca's friends however are the perfect supportive friends, and I really liked reading about them.


The plot was a little predictable but still very satisfying. The ending of course was a little maddening at first but ended just perfectly. I wish it never ended because I just couldn't get enough of the story and characters. If you're looking to read a funny, romantic, fast-paced, light, and amazing read, then I totally recommend reading The Duff!

Rating:

Waiting on Wednesday (36): Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that I'm eagerly awaiting. This week I can't wait for Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin! I'm reading one of her books right now and am really  enjoying it. Hopefully, Extraordinary will be just as good. I'm excited to read it when it comes out this fall on September 7, 2010!

Extraordinary

 By: Nancy Werlin

Description from Goodreads:

Phoebe, a member of the wealthy Rothschilds family, befriends Mallory, an awkward new girl in school, and the two become as close as sisters, but Phoebe does not know that Mallory is a faerie, sent to the human world to trap the ordinary human girl into fulfilling a promise made by her ancestor Mayer to the queen of the faeries.

Fallen Cover Remake

Here's a cover remake I made of Fallen by Lauren Kate! 

For more details go to Hooked on YA Books.

  Here's the original image:

*found image at Photobucket here

It's Not Summer Without You Review

Title: It's Not Summer Without You
Sequel: The Summer I Turned Pretty 

Author: Jenny Han

Pages: 275
 Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: April 27, 2010

My Edition: Hardback

Reading Level: Young Adult

Bought from: Borders

Summary from Amazon:
Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach? It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

Review:

It's Not Summer Without You was an amazing sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty but also very different. The mood in INSWY was very gloomy and not as exciting and happy as the first but was beautifully written, sad, but really great. Also, you will finally find out Belly's real first name which I've been wondering for a long time...Belly is a cute name, but her name is actually Isabel which I see where the nickname comes from now.

Belly, her family, and her family friends all experience a great loss and all are affected greatly. Belly is down all the time and her best friend keeps bugging her about Conrad. Belly's mom is busy all the time and really sad. Jeremiah and Conrad are each affected differently, and their dad is acting selfish and fake. The whole relationship between Belly and Conrad was fun to read about at first, but the more and more I read about him, he just seemed distant and cold. I really liked the alternating perspectives in this sequel compared to the first. Reading about the past made it easier to understand what Belly and everyone was experiencing. Also, reading from Jeremiah's perspective was very, very interesting. I never knew his true feelings or how he really felt about Belly.

The ending was the best possible ending, very surprising and not expected at all! The last page is also very cute. I just found out that there will be a third and final book to the Summer series which will come out next summer. I'm very excited to see how things are going for the two families and how Belly's relationship is working out. If you haven't read The Summer I Turned Pretty, I highly recommend reading it now because the whole series is well written and great!

Rating:

IMM (33 & 34)

IMM was started by The Story Siren. In My Mailbox is where I post the books/swag I won, received for review, bought, borrowed, or ect. The book titles are linked to their Amazon pages. These are the books I got this week:

FROM THE LIBRARY:
Runaway: Airhead Book 3 by Meg Cabot (Hardback)

FOR REVIEW:
The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger
(ARC from Hip Scouts)

WON FROM RANDOM BUZZERS:

The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (ARC)
Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski

What books did you get this week?

Contest Time! 250 Followers Contest!!

In thanks of all my amazing, lovely 250+ followers, I'm hosting a 200 followers contest with 2 winners! The first winner can pick two books from the list, and the second winner can pick one book from the list! Each winner will also receive some swag : )

These are the books you can choose from 
 (linked to Amazon pages):

Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire

(Gently Used ARC) ~ my review

Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus 

(Gently Used Paperback) ~ my review

Merlin's Harp by Anne Eliot Crompton

(Gently Used ARC)

Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson 
(Gently Used ARC) ~ my review

She Thief by Daniel Finn

(New ARC)

Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

(New Paperback)

CONTEST DETAILS:

To enter fill out this form HERE and answer what is your favorite debut novel so far?

Open to U.S. addresses only and ends June 18th!

EXTRA ENTRIES:

(I will be checking all entries, so please be honest!)

+1 commenting on any review

+2 for adding/added my button or blog to your blogroll

+3 for being a follower before the contest: before 5/12

+4 for spreading the word anywhere

Thanks again and good luck : D Enter HERE!

 

Adorable Baby Geese Videos!!!

Today my mom was driving and along the road was a pond with family of geese with about 18 little chicks! We stopped and parked to get a closer look : ) I just bought a iPod Nano 5G that has a video camera so what did I do, I pulled out my new Nano and took a video of them! I followed them along and kind of freaked out the mother. She started squawking at me and kept extending her neck back and forth. At one point, I was really afraid she was about to attack me. Here are the videos on YouTube where I just made my first YouTube account:

Waiting on Wednesday (35)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that I'm eagerly awaiting. This week I can't wait for Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick! I just read Hush, Hush last month and loved it. I'm excited to read it when it comes out this summer on November 16, 2010!

Crescendo
 (Hush, Hush Book 2)
By: Becca Fitzpatrick

Description from Goodreads:

Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

Hush, Hush Review

Title: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Pages: 291
 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

My Edition: Hardback

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Received from: won from JYTBB

Summary from Goodreads: 
For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.


Review:

Hush, Hush consisted off a sexy, partly scary paranormal story with some romance and mystery. Patch who is the main male character is set on being with Nora who is the total opposite of him. He has the total bad boy vibe and acts the part persistently. He does anything possible and even strange acts to be with Nora. Nora reminds me of myself actually because she's smart and quiet, and doesn't go out with the dumb guys at her school. The relationship between her and Patch was very hard to stop reading. Patch seems like the perfect and hot bad boy...

Overall Hush, Hush was a great read, and I enjoyed it a lot. The ending was probably the best part of the book because it was very unexpected and totally surprising. I fell in love with Patch and his story by the end and just can't wait to read the next book in the series.  Debut books I have read lately have been so good and Hush, Hush is definitely included as one of them. The cover is perfect for the book and is also beautiful and so sparkly...one of the best covers! I'm so excited to read Crescendo this November!

Rating:

Sorry for my week long unplanned absence and other info!

Alright so, I just needed a break from blogging and even reading, so that's why I wasn't here at all last week : ( I will definitely have several posts this week but not as many as usual. Since school is winding down, my mind is about to explode...eek! Anyways just wanted to let you all know. 

I will post the Hush, Hush review later tonight which I read about two weeks ago. (It was really good!) Also I have two new affiliates Kapri at Book Fanatics and Liz at Cleverly Inked. They are awesome and nice bloggers, so go check them out if you haven't already : ) Hope you all have a great rest of the day!

IMM (32)

IMM was started by The Story Siren. In My Mailbox is where I post the books/swag I won, received for review, bought, borrowed, or ect. The book titles are linked to their Amazon pages. These are the books I got this week:

 BOUGHT FROM BORDERS:

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han (Hardback)

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehert
(Bargain Book Paperback for $3.99!)

How It Ends by Laura Weiss (Bargain Book Paperback for $3.99!)

FROM THE LIBRARY:

Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti (Hardback)
Suspicion by Kate Brian (Paperback)
Paradise Lost by Kate Brian (Paperback)
Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder (Paperback)


REQUESTED EBOOKS FROM NETGALLEY: 
(A great site to download free eBook galleys from publishers!)
The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

What books did you get this week?