The Best Books Ever

Happy New Year!  To celebrate the fact that it is 2012 I am having a super mega ultimate (was that enough descriptor words?) giveaway! This giveaway is open to US/ CA residents only (sorry International buddies- the funds are pretty tight right now!) There will be 4  (yes, you heard me right) winners! One winner will receive: A paperback copy of Living Violet by Jaime Reed Two winners will receive: Awkward by Marni Bates And last but not least, one winner will receive: A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink (Advanced copy) PLUS a super special extra prizes from Michelle herself! If you want to enter for your chance to win- please use the rafflecopter below.  The contest ends January 20th. Thank you to Kensington Teen and Michelle Zink for the awesome prizes!

Of Poseidon By Anna Banks To be Published on May 2012 Published by Feiwel and Friends Source ATW Arc Tours Summary Taken from Goodreads : Emma and her friend Chloe are spending vacation in Florida. When Emma (literally) runs into a hot guy named Galen on the beach, little does she know he’s a prince of the Syrena. Galen and Emma both feel something strange – is it attraction? – and Galen suspects that Emma might well be the girl he’s heard of – a human who can communicate with fish. What follows is a deadly scene with a shark in which Galen witnesses Emma’s gifts. He must know more about her, and follows her back to New Jersey, and high school, to find out for sure if she’s the key to saving his kingdom. Soon, Emma can’t deny her feelings for him, but can’t explain them, either – and both she and Galen must learn more about where she comes from and what her powers are before they can trust one another and their feelings. This was such a fun book!  Literally, I

The Springsweet By Saundra Mitchell To be Published on April 2012 Published by Harcourt Source: ATW Arc Tours Summary Taken from Goodreads : It’s a long way from Baltimore to Oklahoma Territory. But Zora Stewart will go any distance to put the tragic events of her sixteenth summer behind her. So this city girl heads to the tiny frontier town of West Glory to help her young widowed aunt keep her homestead going. When another Baltimorean shows up in West Glory, Zora couldn’t be more surprised. Theo de la Croix made the long trip out west hoping to court Zora, whom he has long admired from afar. But Zora has developed an attraction to a rather less respectable fellow: Emerson Birch, a rough-mannered young "sooner" whose fertile land is coveted. As Zora begins to suspect that there may be more than luck behind Emerson’s good land, she discovers an extraordinary, astonishing power of her own: the ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are giving you one of our favorite themes this week:  magic!  This could be magical powers, magical creatures, witches, faeries- as long as there is magic involved- it counts! http://adobetutorialz.com Week 5:  Magic I'm guessing that my pick for best magic book isn't going to win any points for originality. But that's okay, because the book itself is so original. And the way it's impacted our culture is undeniable. What other series has its own theme park? And, at least in my household, the names of Potterarian spells have worked their way into our everyday vernacular -- accio coffee ! J.K. Rowling's world-building is art. The magic system in her novels is so rich and complex. It's not only entrancing and believable -- you want to believe it's true. And that perhaps your invitation to Hogwarts is winging its way to you as you read. When our twins were born a year ago, my husband and I we

Best Books: Row 1: Darker Still, The Girl in the Steel Corset, Touch of Power, Jane, Entwined, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Row 2:  The Faerie Ring, Destined, Memory's Wake, Divergent, The Mephisto Covenant, The Future of Us Row 3:  The Merchant's Daughter Best Series: The Iron Fey, The River of Time, Tiger's Curse , The Other Countess, The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices Best Advanced Copies for 2012: Monstrous Beauty, Austentatious, The Catastrophic History of You and Me, Of Poseidon, Incarnate, and I forgot Born Wicked and A Temptation of Angels (please forgive me!!) I hope that clears up the picture a bit.  I am sick and don't feel like making it again, ha ha! I tried to make this as streamlined as possible.  If there is one I missed- please let me know below!

Monstrous Beauty By Elizabeth Fama To be Published on: August 2012 Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) Source: ATW Arc Tours Summary Taken from Goodreads: Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences. Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy o

Hallowed By Cynthia Hand Published by Harper Collins To be Published on January 2012 Source: NetGalley Summary taken from Goodreads : For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain,

Won from First Novel's Club: Glow Legend Won from Paper Lantern Lit: Fury A Secret of the Rose Notes The Magnolia League From Around the World Tours: Monstrous Beauty Of Poseidon From Kensington Teen for Review (and giveaways!) Living Violet Awkward (not pictured) Gifts from the hubsters: Clockwork Prince  Tiger's Voyage (not pictured) I Kill Giants (graphic novel) Ender's Game From Haley at Ya-Aholic: Vampire Academy From My Bookworm Santa: Inheritance Holy COW!  My poor mailman had a busy week!  Thank you to KTeen, Paper Lantern Lit, First Novels Club, and the very lovely Haley for all the wonderful gifts  (and my Bookworm Santa too!) Has anyone read Kill Giants or Ender's Game?  Just curious- I had never even heard of them! Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! PSST- Watch the blog on New Year's Day- we have 3, yes 3 giveaways starting up!  You DON'T want to miss it!

    Q:  If you had to spend eternity inside the pages of a book which book would you choose and why?       This is a hard one... I would love to be in lots of books- The Hunger Games, Wildwood Dancing, The Infernal Devices, etc.... but after thinking about it- do I really want to?  I mean, these are great books, but do I want to LIVE in them?  I am sure it wouldn't be pleasant.  So this may sound like a cop out- but I want to live in the Harry Potter series.  I have the opportunity for magic and cool experiences, but I can also go to the grocery store and the mall if I want to, ha ha!

Destined By Jessie Harrell Published on November 2011 Published by Mae Day Publishing Source:  From Author for Review Summary Taken from Goodreads : When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear. As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.  Wow did I love this book!  This is not a modern telling where "Lauren" is a normal high school student and suddenly finds out she is a reincarnation of Psyche and has to defeat some evil curse.  This is a retelling of the myth of Psyche and Eros.  It takes place in ancient Greece and stays in Ancient Greece.  I loved that! It is funny how I find a straight retell

Welcome to the Best Book Ever feature on Short and Sweet Reviews. Each week, authors, bloggers, and book lovers share what they think is the best book in a specific theme. This week- we are heading out of the public school world and heading to Week 4: Boarding Schools The best book I've read that takes place in a boarding school would have to be the entire Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead! I think there are 7 books in the whole series and each one is just fantastic. Plus the main character, Rose, is so kick ass and her sexy love interest Dimitri is just as swoon worthy as ever! I haven't read her companion novel, Bloodlines, but I've heard it's really good as well! Richelle Mead is an awesome writer, and the fact that everything is set in a boarding school just makes things more interesting! -Anna @ Literary Exploration  Best boarding school type book will have to be a close call between Mythos Academy in Jennifer Estep series that include

Under the Never Sky By Veronica Rossi Published by ATOM To be Published on January 3, 2012 Summary taken from Goodreads : Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction. As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions. They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perr

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Karen Baney and the book: A Heart Renewed (Prescott Pioneers 2) Karen Baney (April 17, 2011) ***Special thanks to Karen Baney for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Karen Baney, in addition to writing Christian historical fiction and contemporary novels, works as a Software Engineer. Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing. Karen and her husband make their home in Gilbert, A