Waiting on Wednesday #2

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


My pick this week is:

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Release date February 7th 2012


A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare in this spellbinding fantasy

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Why: First, I love the cover, it got my attention right away as I saw it. And it sounds good! What else can I say?

Teaser Tuesdays #1

And yet another meme by Should Be Reading!




Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My Teaser:

He was facedown on the ground, the tire iron jutting out of his back. He'd been stabbed with it.
p. 122, Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Cover Crazy #7

Yet another Cover Crazy, Hosted by The Book Worms.



Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey




The action and romance continue as the Drakes face a new vampire with a 200-year-old grudge.

It’s been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she’s made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That’s if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.

The clans are gathering for Helena’s royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha’s reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy.

This second adventure in the Drake Chronicles—told from both Logan’s and Isabeau’s perspectives—has all the same butt-kicking action, heart-pounding romances and snarky humor that readers loved in Hearts at Stake, as well as exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more.



Ran into this in someones (can't remember whos!) blog, haven't heard about Drake Chronicles earlier, but I fell in love with this cover, and now they're absolutely on my to read- list!


I love this cover because :
* Extremely simple and elegant
* Love the ribbon
* Love the flowers you can barely see


Dislike?
* Almost nothing, since nearly everything is on balance. Except then I noticed the ring in the finger. Bothers me a little, would've been better without, though it's probably part of the story or something else, so what can you do.

Musing Mondays #1

A meme hosted by Should Be Reading!




This week’s musing asks…

Do you listen to audiobooks? Why, or why not?

At one point, I listened to audiobooks nonstop. I listened them while cooking, folding laundry, ironing, cleaning, knitting and so on. Then I kind of just forgot them, since I started to buy books again after a long break, and now it's all about reading. But I'm quite sure, that after I start in my new job, it's much more convenient to listen audiobooks while driving a car and so on. But of course, they don't beat real books.

If I have to pick a favorite, it might be either some book of House of Night- serie, since I listened them all as audiobooks, or Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor), the part one of his Millennium- serie.

Book Review: Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
Released : May 24th 2011
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Format : Hardcover
Pages: 405
Series: The Blood Journals #1
Source : Library
Buy : Amazon UK / Book Depository

synopsis

It starts off simply.

Draw a circle ... place a dead leaf in the center ... sprinkle some salt ... recite a little Latin ... add a drop of blood ...

Maybe that last part isn't exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents' horrific deaths. She's willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn't the only recent arrival in Silla's life. There's Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She's not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick's first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can't deny their attraction. And they can't ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Tessa Gratton's intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood.

thoughts

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
The first thing in my mind: Bloodmagic is wrong! Everyone knows that! You don't do it, never ever ever! Nothing good comes out of it, everyone knows that too! And I had some real trouble believing, that you could do something good with killing animals. Like.. Hello!? But, it was interesting to see this new idea of blood magic, and luckily I was able to look past my own opinions, and enjoy this book.

This book was written in a two point of views, Silla's and Nicholas's, which reminded me of Old Magic. In Old Magic, it didn't work, since you only got some shallow touch to the characters and the deeper things were forgotten. Luckily, this didn't happen this time, and I was able to connect with the characters.

I was quite doubtful in the beginning, since the whole book started with the main characters meeting in a graveyard. Surprise! It's either that, or they meet in a school. But it wasn't nearly as corny as I expected, it had some original twist, otherwise I would have stopped reading immediately.

Main thing missing was some humor. This was quite serious book, there was some extremely gory stuff going on (!!!), so it would have been nice to laugh at times. It was way too creepy most of the time, I tried to stop reading and was all "Oh no, that's disgusting, I can't read this, my fragile mind will break!", but I just couldn't. And that's why I would've appreciate some nice stuff too. Now there was just a pile of bodies, angry birds and Lilith as your evil stepmother. That's hardcore. And of course I would have bet my money on Lilith, I mean Mary, as the bad guy, but luckily it wasn't that simple.


It took me only half a day to read this book, which hasn't happened in while. I would have given this 5 cupcakes, but as I said, I need more sunshine to the rain. Obviously, I will be reading the second book, too, though it isn't published until some time next year, so I guess we just have to wait.



Rating:





Don't forget to check out my first giveaway!

In My Mailbox #4

Here's some books I borrowed, bought and received! IMM (In My Mailbox) is a meme hosted by The Story Siren!



I entered this amazing Fall Book Exchange hosted by Ruby's Reads!






from Angela!



Torment by Lauren Kate (As a hardcover, OMG!)
Nevermore by Kelly Creagh


Man, was I lucky, thank you Angela! Unfortunately don't know, if she has a blog, so can't link to that :(



borrowed from library



Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1) by Tessa Gratton (And all ready read this one, right away, in a few hours!)



bought



Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins (As a hardcover, bought from Book Depository)
My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers #4) by Rachel Vincent (Bought from Book Depository)






Silence (Hush, Hush #3) by Becca Fitzpatrick (Bought from Book Depository, I just couldn't wait for this! Just reading it now!)



Don't forget to check out my first giveaway!

On My Wishlist #2

Meme hosted by Book Chick City!

The Awakening and The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries #1-2)

The Awakening and The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries #1-2) by L.J. Smith
From Goodreads:

The Awakening: Elena Gilbert is used to getting what she wants and she wants mysterious new boy, Stefan. But Stefan is hiding a deadly secret - a secret that will change Elena's life for ever ...
The Struggle: Elena is torn between her boyfriend, Stefan, and his brother, Damon. But these brothers hide dark secrets and a tragic past that threatens them all. Damon wants to lead Elena astray - and he'd rather kill Stefan than let him possess her ...

Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1)

Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1) by Tessa Gratton
From Goodreads:

It starts off simply.

Draw a circle ... place a dead leaf in the center ... sprinkle some salt ... recite a little Latin ... add a drop of blood ...

Maybe that last part isn't exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents' horrific deaths. She's willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn't the only recent arrival in Silla's life. There's Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She's not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick's first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can't deny their attraction. And they can't ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Tessa Gratton's intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood.




Don't forget to check out my first giveaway!

Book Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Released : August 16th 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Format : Paperback
Pages: 332
Series: Vampire Academy #1
Source : Bought from Amazon
Buy : Amazon UK / Book Depository

synopsis

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

thoughts

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
What can you say.. Gossip girl goes vampire!

Well, the beginning was quite intriguing with the whole girl-on-girl- action going on *smirk* Though after that everything was going so fast, that at first I was kind of out of it.

Rose. I actually liked her. Despite all the bad things about her, like being extremely confident about her looks and always wanting to start a fight. Usually I have a serious trouble with main characters, who think or know that they're really good looking and goes on and on about it, but it didn't bother me as much as I thought, I just started to think that man, she's hot! And I like my female characters kick-ass <3 She's a rebel! The biggest problem I had with her, was that despite her being a rebel, she's obeying the stupid rules and wants to live conventional life. Even when she, and Lissa of course, ran from the academy, she does what she's been taught, aka is a guardian. Yeah, sure, you're raised up to be a guardian, but.. Yeah. I have a huge problem with obediance and conventional ways.

And Lissa. I didn't like her nearly as much as Rose. In the beginning she's kind of whiny and annoying. Luckily, there's actually some character development, and she becomes quit the b*tch. Sort of. Reckless too, which I wasn't so fond of. Christian was obviously good influence, he's awesome.

I love the idea of Rose and Dimitri together, surprize, surprize. But it was sad, that only when they were under compulsion spell, they.. how should I put it.. "got romantic". Hopefully I will see more of them in the next book!

Overall, this was a good read. Dialogues were sometimes kind of wooden, this could have been a total ten if that area were better. As I earlier mentioned, I have huge problem with the conventional thinking and obedience, so that occasionally put me off a little. I don't like the class system, royals or authorities. And I was just horrified, when was revealed, that two guardians can't be together ever. Yeah, I'm a hippie, who thinks that people should be able to love who ever they want (if they're both adults in right mind etc.) and so on. But fortunately I didn't get too creaped out about that and finished the book, since the ending was quite exciting! Definitely will be reading the 2nd book.



Rating:

+ ½




Don't forget to check out my first giveaway!

My first giveaway ever!

So here's the giveaway I promised in my earlier post! This is my first giveaway ever, so if I screw something up, please forgive me :)

The book is Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins, it's a paperback version and I've read this once. So there might be some little signs of my reading, but nothing major! And like I mentioned earlier, I'm giving this away because I loved it so much that I had to buy this as a hardcover. You can see the picture of the cover here, unfortunately I forgot to load up the batteries for my camera, so don't have better photos :(

Rules
* Giveaway is EU only
* You have to be a GFC Follower
* The giveaway ends 29th October 2011
* The winner has 72 hours to answer to my email,
after that there'll be a new winner chosen
* Just fill the form below!


GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!

Book Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Released : April 1st 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's
Format : Paperback
Pages: 336
Series: Hex Hall #1
Source : Bought from Amazon
Buy : Amazon UK / Book Depository

synopsis

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

thoughts

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
I sooooooo fell in love with this one! It has creepiness, action, romance and it's just freaking hilarious! I bought this based on reviews, and was not disappointed. My copy was paperback, so now I ordered a hardcover-version of this one. Which means, soon I'll have one extra copy of this, which means.. my first giveaway ever!

This really was a brilliant read, which I'm always happy to find. When I was halfway through the book, I actually started to check if I was near the ending, 'cause I didn't want it to end, ever!

Of course, there's two guys mentioned, but luckily, it wasn't taken over the top, like in so many books. These guys actually have character and they're not all head over heels for the main character. They're not in war with each other and they're not like stupid drooling puppies! And yet again, there's the "good guy - bad guy"- thingy going on, but it didn't bother me. Except, of course I loved the bad guy.. What else could you expect?







It definitely had some new ideas with the whole Hex Hall- thing and I liked how even the origin of the witches etc. is explained. And I liked the mystery, too, 'cause it wasn't too obvious. Though the whole dead-grandmother-back-to-life- idea was creepy. Totally creepy. I had some trouble trying to read this in a dark room, all alone.

If I have to find some negatives about this book, I guess I wasn't really excited about the whole cheerleader-witches-idea, but fortunately I was proven wrong and they were taken so over the top, it was hilarious. And of course there's the same old "one girl/two guys/add-some-paranormal-thingies", but luckily it had some unique twists in it, so it wasn't too obvious and boring. And I was quite sure that we would see another whiny little girl as a main character, but she was actually really cute, occasionally whiny, but not too whiny!

So I truly recommend this to anyone, who's looking for a great and funny read!



Rating: