Summer ARCs Contest!

Up for grabs today are two gently used ARC copies of The Summer of Skinny Dipping and Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots. There will be two winners, one for each book! Both books I gave 4 stars, so I very much recommend reading them! Here's the descriptions from Goodreads + links to my review of each:

"Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.
My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything...."

After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Mia is looking forward to spending a relaxing summer in the Hamptons with her glamorous cousins. But when she arrives she find her cousins distant, moody, and caught up with a fast crowd. Mia finds herself lonelier than ever, until she meets her next-door-neighbor, Simon Ross. And from the very first time he encourages her to go skinny dipping, she's caught in a current impossible to resist.

Timeless in feel, The Summer of Skinny-Dipping is a poignant, literary coming-of-age romance that will live on long after summer has ended.

 ~ MY REVIEW ~

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Can a boy-hungry Jersey girl survive the wilds of Canada with her eco-identity intact? A witty new YA novel from the author of SOPHOMORE SWITCH.

Jenna may hail from the ’burbs of New Jersey, but Green Teen activism is her life. So when her mom suggests they spend the summer at Grandma’s Florida condo, Jenna pleads instead to visit her hippie godmother, Susie, up in rural Canada. Jenna is psyched at the chance to commune with this nature she’s heard about — and the cute, plaidwearing boys she’s certain must roam there. But after a few run-ins with local wildlife (from a larger-than-life moose to Susie’s sullen Goth stepdaughter to a hot but hostile boy named Reeve), Jenna gets the idea that her long-held ideals, like vegetarianism and conservation, don’t play so well with this population of real outdoorsmen. A dusty survival guide offers Jenna amusing tips on navigating the wilderness — but can she learn to navigate the turns of her heart?

~ MY REVIEW ~

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CONTEST INFO:

- Open to U.S. addresses only

- Must fill out THIS FORM
- Two Winners ~ One for each book!

- Ends July 22nd!

EXTRA ENTRIES ~ MUST LEAVE LINKS:

+1 Commenting on either review
+2 Linking to Twitter, Facebook, Post, or ect.

+3 Adding contest button to sidebar/post

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Fill Out THE FORM and Good Luck!

Waiting on Wednesday (41) + Eclipse Midnight Premiere Mini Review!

"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 Wired by Robin Wasserman which is the third and final book in the Skinned trilogy. I loved the first two, so I'm excited and a little sad to see how the story ends. The plot is very unique, and the characters are amazing! Can't wait to read it when it comes out this September 14, 2010.

Wired: Skinned Book 3

By: Robin Wasserman

Description from Amazon:
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One year ago, Lia Kahn died.

 A few days later, she woke up.

She had a new body: Mechanical, unfeeling, inhuman. She had a new family: Mechs like her, who didn’t judge her for what she could no longer be. She had a new life, one that would last forever.

At least, it was supposed to.
But now everything Lia thought she knew has turned out to be a lie; everyone she thought she loved has been stolen away. And someone is trying to get rid of the mechs, once and for all. Lia will risk everything to save herself and the people she can’t live without. But not before facing one final truth: She can’t save everyone.

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I went to go see Eclipse for the midnight premiere last night, and wow it was really good! My movie theater had 7 theaters open, and all were extremely packed! I got there an hour early and knew that we would get crappy seats. We theater hopped to a different less packed one and got second row seats instead of front row ones.

The movie had pretty much everything from the book but just very different. A lot of the events were switched up but everything was mostly there. There was lots of kissing too lol! The actor who played Riley was really good, but the new Victoria acted a tad weird. Also surprising they added a lot about the newborns, Riley, and Bree Tanner which was pretty interesting. I highly recommend seeing it because it was much better than the first two. Now I can't wait to see the next two parts of Breaking Dawn!

Guest Post with Sean McCartney

First off I would like to thank Adrienne for allowing me to talk with all of you. This is my first blog so it is quite exciting for me.

My name is Sean McCartney and I’m currently on a blog tour to promote my new young adult action adventure novel entitled THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB: SECRETS OF THE MAGICAL MEDALLIONS. It’s being released on July 6^th, 2010 from Mountainland Publishing.

The story is about Tommy Reed and his treasure hunting friends Shannon McDougal, Jackson Miller and Chris Henderson. One day Tommy receives a rather ordinary looking medallion from his very famous treasure-hunting uncle “Diamond” Jack Reed and finds himself the object of an evil treasure collector named Manuel de la Ernesto. Now Tommy and his friends must find the secret behind the medallion before Manuel can get to them and the medallion.

When I set out to write The Treasure Hunters Club: Secrets of the Magical Medallions I wanted to pull together all the things from books and movies that I liked. The mystery of the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown, the adventure of Percy Jackson, a little magic from Harry Potter and the action and history of the movies Indiana Jones and national treasure.

Though this is the first book in the Treasure Hunters Club series, with your help to make it a success, the next books will follow. I have planned six treasure hunting books as they follow the club through the 8^th grade and into high school. Of course, as they get older their treasure hunts get more dangerous and more exciting.

I have been asked why I created a series around treasure hunting. The truth is I believe treasure hunting is something everyone can do. You don’t need super powers just a desire to do research and find where to look. Also treasure hunting touches on the sidebars of history, the stuff not in the textbooks. That is usually the most interesting and provides a solid building block for the series.

My goal has always been to be published and have a series that kids can enjoy and have a lot of fun reading. I was lucky to find a publisher who believes in the series as much as I do. What I was surprised to find out was how much the publishing world has changed since I started this journey toward “being published.” The emergence of ebooks has shaken the publishing world like never before and I believe we have only scratched the surface of what this new technology can do to help promote reading.

In the meantime, I hope you take a moment to check out my website www.treasurehuntersclubbook.com and learn more about the series and read some short stories about the characters.

Thank you again for this opportunity and allowing me to be here and I hope you enjoy the book and the series.

Thanks,

Sean

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Thanks for stopping by Sean! Be sure to check out his website and watch the trailer below and here is the book cover and the book description from Goodreads:

  

In the sixth grade Tommy Reed, hoping to follow in his famous Uncle’s treasure hunting footsteps forms his own treasure hunters group with his best friends Jackson Miller, Shannon McDougal and Chris Henderson. 

For two years the club talks about lost treasure and wishes for adventure.Until adventure finds them.

Stacey Deutsch, author of Blast to the Past, said “The Lost Treasure Series is a gripping tale from the get-go. An adrenaline packed rush, guaranteed to keep
readers on the edge of their seats.” 

 

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella Review

Title: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner:
An Eclipse Novella
Series: Twilight Saga

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Pages: 192

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: June 5, 2010

My Edition: Hardback

Reading Level: Young Adult

Borrowed from: the Library

Summary from Goodreads:

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

Review:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner was a very interesting and unexpected addition to the Twilight Saga. I was pretty hesitant to read a story about a very minor character in Eclipse but was very surprised by how much I enjoyed reading from Bree's perspective. When starting to read the novella, I started to finally remember Bree's character and how she is destroyed by Jane at the end of the battle. The plot was a little slow at first but was really exciting towards the end. It was a very short book hence being called a novella but did take me awhile to finally finish because I always was distracted while reading it. The style seemed very similar to the other Twilight books but also very different and unique, since it was from an unbiased point of view who knows basically nothing about the Cullens, vampires, or werewolves.

The story involves Bree and her life in a crazy house full of newborns that "she" made and Riley who is in charge of them. Bree and her fellow newborns know absolutely nothing about the rules of being a vampire and also fight and kill each other constantly. They also kill humans relentlessly and carelessly while breaking the vampire code. Bree is much smarter than the others and is starting to find out that Riley is keeping things from them. She starts to befriend and bond with a fellow older newborn, and they together learn that Riley and their mysterious female maker are keeping secrets. The story ends with the final battle, and Bree's life is ended.

It was pretty weird reading about a character who I started to really like but then know she must die by the end. It was a very satisfying read, so I highly recommend reading this Eclipse novella to any Twilight fan and even those who have never read any of the Saga. Some will be disappointed and discouraged to read a story that doesn't involve much of Bella, the Cullens, or the werewolves but believe me Bree's story was very entertaining and unique to read. I look forward to reading more from Stephenie Meyer in the future either about some of the minor characters or a whole new storyline.

Rating:

IMM (40) + I am Back & News!

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

I again didn't get much this week but did receive an awesome swag pack from Liz at Cleverly Inked! It included several bookmarks, postcard, tattoos, sticker, and magnets. Here's the pic:

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All this week I was in NY for my cousin's graduation so that's why there wasn't any new posts from me. It was a nice break away from technology and also nice spending time with my family & getting some sun. I finally caught up on reading all my fellow bloggers' posts today which took a looong time : ) 

Anyways, I will definitely be posting the reviews of Grace and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner this week and more. Finally I reached 300+ followers recently, so thank you so much to all my lovely followers! I''l post a new contest some time soon, and also my blogoversary is coming up in August which I'll be having a bigger contest. Thanks!

IMM (39)

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

I didn't get much this week, so I'm just posted the cover and summary of the books. I received another ARC of Grace by Elizabeth Scott to keep from Dutton which is awesome and also checked out The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer from the library! Here are the book descriptions from Amazon:

Grace by Elizabeth Scott:
 Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate. Told in spare, powerful prose by acclaimed author Elizabeth Scott, this tale of a dystopian near future will haunt readers long after they've reached the final page.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer:
Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.