Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Saving June
by Hannah Harrington

Published: May 1st 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Ebook
Pages: 288
Source: Through NetGalley for review
Amazon |
Book Depository

Your sister is dead. Nineteen songs can tell you why.
Only one boy can help you understand.

Harper Scott's older sister, June, took her own life a week before high school graduation, leaving Harper devastated. So when her divorcing parents decide to split up June's ashes, Harper steals the urn and takes off cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going - California.

Enter Jake Tolan, a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession... and an unknown connection to June. When he insists on joining them, Harper's just desperate enough to let him.
With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what Harper needs.

Except... Jake's keeping a secret that has the power to turn her life upside down again.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*

There is so much beauty in just existing. In being alive.
I don't want to miss a second.

One of my favorite sentences in this book. And yeah, I know, this review should've been out yesterday, but since this was such an inspirational book, I spent few nights listing up my favorite songs from the 60's and the 70's, aka. My Saving June soundtrack.

My Saving June soundtrack

Uriah Heep - Lady in Black

Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water

Animals - House of the Rising Sun

The Doors - Riders On The Storm

The Mamas & The Papas - California Dreamin'

Scott McKenzie - San Francisco

Eagles - Hotel California

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

Blondie - Heart of Glass

Aerosmith - Dream On

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven

The Beatles - Yesterday

Percy Mayfield - Hit the Road Jack

America - A Horse With No Name

My dad was one of those tortured artistic souls, who was young at 70's, so at least I got to listen some good music! When I was around 7yo, my favorite songs were House of the Rising Sun, Hotel California, California Dreamin', San Francisco, Heart of Glass, Dream On and Hit the Road Jack. So this book ended up as my own little trip down the memory lane. Guess that shows how inspirational this book was. Yeah, I got little sidetracked here, so back to business!

Harper's sister, June, is dead. She was intelligent, beautiful, just perfect in every way possible. That's why it's even harder for everyone to understand how someone that perfect could take her own life.
Harper wants to honor her sister's wish, and starts a road trip, destination California, June's dreamland. Of course her best friend leaves with her, but along comes also Jake, mystery guy, who somehow knew June. Was there something between Jake and June, or what is going on? That's the question Harper ends up thinking more and more.

I already used the word "inspirational" from this book, so I'm not going to say that again. But really, that's pretty accurate word for this.
It's also really romantic, occasionally funny and exciting, sometimes really sad. It describes families, friendships, suicide, hope, lost.. The list goes on and on, so yeah, you should just read it.

So why only four cupcakes? The ending. First you read one of the most amazing books, and then there's the same old ending that just says "I need to wrap this up, so let's just give them happily ever after, they ride in the sunset and that's it". This was exceptional book, so where's the exceptional ending?? And I'm the one who always wants happilyeverafters, but it just didn't work.
But this is still something worth checking out, now I totally get the hype!


Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin UK for providing a review copy!

Metamorphosis Blog Tour: Metamorphosis by Devon Ashley

Metamorphosis
by Devon Ashley

Published: November 15th 2011
Format: Ebook
Pages: 160
Series: The Immortal Archives #2
Source: Received from author for review

Amazon | Amazon UK

Change is not always a good thing...

Some survived the battle – but not without a price.

As one heart starts up again, another dies down.

The pure vampires learn their immortality isn't as strong as they'd thought – the status of their hearts determines their vulnerability.

And when the truth gets out, a betrayal by one of their own will cost more lives.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Metamorphosis is the second book in The Immortal Archives series (you can read my review of the first book here!), and even though I enjoyed the first book, the second book definitely was more to my taste.

During the first book, Emily had a little "accident" with Abby's blood, and now she's transforming into something completely new. And the transformation isn't always easy, but little choice does Emily have. Luckily she has Noel and Abby on her side and they do their best to help Emily.
Even when Abby has a little trouble of her own; her heart has not stopped beating, and in her case, it's a bad thing. And she's having some symptoms, like craving for junk food. Guessed already what's going on with her?

The writing reached a whole new level; in the first book everything felt kind of distant, but in this book I felt so connected with the characters, in spite of the third person POV. In the first book the story felt kind of limited because of this, but definitely not anymore!

My favorite character in the first book was Emily, and through this book I just fell more in love with her. You just have to love her personality!
I also managed to feel more connected with Abby, who I didn't really manage to connect with earlier.

One of the main reasons why I liked this so much was because there's some hilarious dialogues going on. Noel, Abby and Emily form an amazing little group who have their own kind of humour, and you just have to love that. Even though you might end up not liking Noel so much in the ending. But I won't spoil that. This book definitely took this series to a completely new level, and left me craving for the third book, Catacombs, which should be out 2013!


Huge thanks to author for providing a review copy!

You can find all the blog tour stops here! And Devon is again hosting some awesome giveaways, you can enter by filling out the form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Blood and Mistletoe (Ivy Granger #1.5)

Blood and Mistletoe (Ivy Granger #1.5) by E.J. Stevens

Expected publication
Nov. 20th 2012


Holidays are worse than a full moon for making people crazy. In Harborsmouth, where many of the residents are undead vampires or monstrous fae, the combination may prove deadly.

Ivy Granger, psychic private investigator, returns to the streets of Harborsmouth in this addition to the bestselling urban fantasy series.

Holidays are Hell, a point driven home when a certain demon attorney returns with information regarding a series of bloody murders. Six Harborsmouth residents have been killed and every victim has one thing in common - they are fae. Whoever is killing faeries must be stopped, but they only leave one clue behind - a piece of mistletoe floating in a pool of the victim's blood.

The holidays just got interesting. Too bad this case may drive Ivy mad before the New Year. Heck, she'll be lucky to survive Christmas.

Blood and Mistletoe is an Ivy Granger series novella.

Stacking the Shelves #1

Last time I showed you some new books was in.. March! After the whole IMM- incident I wanted to do something else. And it took me this long to decide that now on I'll be participating in Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual.

This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Okay, so here's some of the new books I haven't read yet, or I'm currently reading. There's more, but some of them are in odd places (no idea where) and some of them I've already read and that's why left them out of this.

Here's what I've bought..

And here's some of the review copies (I've actually read few of these since I took this photo)..

And then there's some library books, though don't have a picture, but I can make a list! :)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

And then there's all the ebooks, no idea how many of those I still need to read. But yeah, I definitely have stuff to read :B

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

The Forsaken
by Lisa M. Stasse

Published: July 10th 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Format: Ebook
Pages: 384
Source: Through Pulse It
Amazon |
Book Depository

A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy for fans of The Hunger Games.

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet — having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl.
But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes.
Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Little Hunger Games, some Divergent, a touch of Across the Universe, and voilà, we have The Forsaken! It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really anything special.
I was pretty excited in the beginning, but after that it was sort of a roller coaster (and not the good kind of emotional roller coaster).
My thoughts were something like "Okay, this seems interesting - Aaand now we have some Divergent here - Now this is something different! - oh, wait, that's Hunger Games - I'm not sure how to feel about this now - Can this book just end already?! - Where did I read something similar.. oh, Across the Universe! - what, it's still going on..."

The basic idea is the same with every dystopian book. But the great dystopian books have some unique elements that usually make them a hit. In this case, there's the government who wants to eliminate individuals and control everyone, the same old story.
Teens are injected with some serume to diagnose something.. (now I have to cheat from someone) "to diagnose subversive tendencies". Yeah, couldn't remember that one.
Those, who fail get sent to The Wheel - an island where all the unanchored souls are sent. And that's what happens to our main character. At first she's convinced there has to be a mistake, since she's not a lunatic or a criminal! But soon she realizes that that's just how the government rolls.

Many times, I avoid books that are referred as "the new Hunger Games!" or to fans of this and that. Because many times it means there's too many shared elements between those books, and the new book ends up just repeating the old one.
I usually roll my eyes, thinking "Couldn't come up with something new". And I'm not saying this is the case every time, but sometimes. Like in this case. I ended up rolling my eyes so much I was actually afraid I might hurt myself. Not in the beginning so much, but towards the end. It felt as if the author was just dragging out the ending. In the last part of the book, characters' actions didn't make any sense to me. It was just so transparent! You could clearly see how author wanted to things go, but like I said, it didn't make any sense and ended up forced.

I expected the book to end 100 pages before it did, because those last 100 pages were just.. not so interesting. I also felt this should've been a standalone, since I know how the two other books are going to be, and the whole "let's-fight-the-government"- thing could've been on those 100 last pages.
So I probably won't be rest of the trilogy. This was quite entertaining, but the ending ruined it for me.


Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing a review copy!

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft winners!

We have winners, yet again!



Winners were chosen with Random.org, and with winning numbers 20, 11 and 59 the international (ebook) winners are..


Stuart H.,
Christiane C. and
Lindsey M.!


And we also have one US/CA winner (Signed print copy of Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft), and that winner is..


Princess J.!


I've forwarded your contact infos, and Jody will be contacting you soon! Congratulations! :)

Thanks to all the participants!

Wisdom from the deep: 7 ways that a mer lifestyle could help you save the planet by Ciye Cho

I'm so happy to have yet another amazing author stopping by my blog! Please welcome author Ciye Cho, the author of Florence(*click to read my review*)!

Wisdom from the deep: 7 ways that a mer lifestyle could help you save the planet

Mermaids and mermen are remarkable beings. They talk to animals, cross oceans, and live in places that not even Jacques Cousteau has been to.

But did you know that merfolk are also keen proponents of greener living? Here are 7 eco-friendly tips that could help you save the environment.

1) Treat animals with respect. Merpeople live in harmony with the animals around them, and so should you. Free range is good, but a free ocean is better!

2) Go vegetarian. A diet of seaweed is a nutritional and eco-sustainable alternative to farmed crops and animals.*

3) Recycle. Mermaids and mermen are some of the world’s best recyclers. Think like a mermaid and transform your everyday trash into useful items.
Found some discarded beer keg dividers? Why not make some funky bangles and save a dozen turtles? Why not turn last night’s clam dinner into a new shell bra?

4) Be less materialistic. Life at the bottom of the ocean can be rough (ever tried using an iMac underwater?), but merpeople have a refreshing attitude toward materialism: if you can’t use it underwater… you probably don’t need it. Help reduce manufactured waste by curbing your shopping habits.

5) Travel on the back of an animal. Animal transportation offers a fantastic alternative to the tyranny of fossil fuels. Thinking of buying a Prius? Try riding a Porpoise!

6) Cut down your paper usage. For obvious reasons, gossip rags and newspapers don’t last very long in the ocean. Without even knowing it, mermaids are already saving trees.

7) Go Bio(luminescent). Stop using halogen and tungsten light bulbs and get yourself a glowing jellyfish. Save money and bring some color into your life!

Merfolk are more than just stewards of the ocean. They’re pioneers in cleaner, purer living. With this in mind, I urge all landwalkers to think about a sea-green lifestyle. Why not take some wisdom from the deep?

(* N.B: Always consult a doctor before beginning an exotic new diet.)

What a great post, thank you! :) Though I would have some trouble with mer lifestyle, since I can't live without meat or physical books. But everyone else, give it a try!

TBR Intervention #8

I know, I'm a little late, but it's been a busy weekend! We had to visit my little sister, since her mother-in-law is going to do our construction drawings! Extremely exiting times!

Hosted by Books4Juliet, Whatever You Can Still Betray & Refracted Light!


TBR Intervention

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it.

Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).

2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer).

Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week (or two weeks).

1. THE BOOKS I COMMITTED TO READ:



I read Saving June and The Forsaken, just haven't write the reviews yet (like always..). But Ties to the Blood Moon not so much. I'm just having some trouble with it, because I just end up comparing it to Twilight, because it's basically the same, someone just changed the names :P Instead, I read The Night Circus!





2. THE BOOK I COMMIT TO READ THIS WEEK:



My picks for this week are Rape Girl, Metamorphosis and Masks of the Lost Kings!

Next week I'm gonna start in a new job (again) as a trainee (again..), so let's see what happens.


What book did you chose for your TBR Intervention?

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft
by Jody Gehrman

Published: June 30th 2012
(first published June 29th 2012)
Publisher: Magic Genie Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 300
Series: Audrey's Guides #1
Source: From the author for
review
Amazon |
Amazon UK

Falling in Love, baking a magical cake, fighting an evil necromancer — it’s all in a day’s work for Audrey Oliver, seventeen-year-old witch-in-training.

When her mother goes missing and her twenty-one-year-old witchy cousin shows up out of the blue, Audrey knows something’s gone horribly, dangerously wrong.

Now it’s up to her to get her own magical powers up to speed before everyone she loves is destroyed by the sorcerer intricately connected to her mother’s secret past.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
You know those days when you just know there's something wrong, but don't know how you know it? Well, Audrey's having that kind of day. Plus, she's seeing things. And accidentally doing some magical things she can't understand.
Unfortunately her gut feeling is right, and there's definitely something going on with her mother, who just disappeared. Their cousin Sadie says she's just taking care of some family business, but something doesn't seem right. Not even with Sadie, who seems to have some special powers of her own.
Like this isn't enough, Audrey also falls in love for the first time and also discovers that she is, in fact, a freaking witch! Who says it's easy being teenager?

First of all, the cover. I do love it, but it still scares me a little bit! I don't know what it is, but something just freaks me out in this. Maybe it has something to do with the girls posture, because sometimes it looks like I'm seeing her back and her head is in odd position and I start thinking about The Exorcist and spinning heads and just wanna hide under the bed. Maybe I do have too wild imagination..

Plot was really enjoyable, and not too predictable, which is always a pleasant surprise! There's also the instalove, but in this case it didn't annoy me, yay! There's so many books with instalove nowadays I sometimes get pretty fed up, but it's all about the execution and this time it really did work. There's also some explanation for this kind of phenomenon so it didn't bug me.

Almost the first thing in the book was Audrey putting some spells on a cheerleader. Who wouldn't love that?? Just priceless! And Audrey trying out her new powers lead to some comical situations, which really made me fall in love with this book.
There's also some scary stuff going on, but luckily those parts weren't too scary, because then I wouldn't have been able to finish the book. And we also get the explanation for Audrey's power and that's bit of a shock, but I'm not gonna spoil it! ;)
Oh, and I absolutely loved the delicious little detail with the recipes, definitely have to try them out!

There's also good variaty in characters and the author managed to give each of them their own voice. I loved Audrey, who is quite self-conscious and insecure, but I also liked Sadie, who also is one of the author's favorite characters (referring to the interview we had earlier)! And I also have to agree that Megan is quite bratty, but you still have to like her. Little sisters usually are pretty bratty and annoying, believe me, I know! ;)

Overall, this was really enjoyable read with humour and magical situations, and I can't wait to read the second book!


Huge thanks to Jody for providing a review copy, this definitely ended up to one of my favorites!

Dust Blog Tour: Cover Interview

Today I'm having a cover interview with Devon Ashley, the author of Dust, which will be released today, and for that is on sale! So make sure to get yourself a copy!

First I'd like to know who makes the beautiful covers, such as the cover of "Dust"? How are they made?

Right now I'm still doing my own by manipulating stock photo.

As you can see, the original photo had really muted colors. I altered the colors on a few objects and adjusted her skin tone to match that of her particular Hollow, then added a few effects to really make the photo pop and glow.

Also, the pic was awkwardly short for a book cover, so instead of trying to elongate her body, I decided to add some water and make it look like she's standing in her Hollow's river.

But the real reason I loved this photo for Dust, besides her being a total nature girl, was how her hands were set up perfectly to throw some pixie dust and make the butterfly a crazy shade of blue! :)

Voila! It's my favorite cover so far!

Here you can see the modifications, click to get a better look!

Where did you get the idea for "Dust" cover?

I was really looking to keep with the title and find something that I could work pixie dust around. I just got really lucky finding this.
The photographer is one of my favorites and he also created the original stock photo for my Falling In Between and Falling Away novels.



Are you a cover snob?

Absolutely! Sorry, but I spend so much time writing, reading, and working on publicity, that I have very little time to really search for new books. For me, the cover means everything.
If you haven't grabbed my attention with it, I'm probably not gonna read the synopsis, and if I haven't done that, I'm not gonna shelve it to-read.

I honestly wish some people would spend the time and put a little more effort into their covers cause so many leave me thinking "yikes!" Especially if they're gonna use the stock photo as is. I realize some people don't have a clue what to do to change it, but neither did I or any of my other writer friends until we actually tried to.
If you can't manipulate it, at least find something relevant to your story. I've read so many descriptions and realized the plot had nothing to do with the cover, which can also turn me off because I feel a little deceived.
It may be pretty, but if it clearly doesn't match, I'm turned off.



Favorite cover of all times (can be from one of your owns)?

Well, as much as I love Dust, I can admit I'm not graphic designer, so there are so many out there that are better. Undead by Kirsty McKay (*click*) cracks me up, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (*click*) is totally creepy with that little girl levitating on the cover, Paranormalcy (*click*) is pretty gorgeous and Sisters Red (*clickclik*) is creepy cool too!



Any specific theme you prefer in cover (people, animal, landscapes, anything really)?

People in action. Like the Rift girl getting ready to use her weapon (*click*).



If you should choose one cover to tattoo in yourself, what would that be?

The Catastrophic History of You and Me (*anotherclick*) would be pretty fun to jump into!



Don't forget to enter to win some of the great prizes in Dustapalooza (yeah, I totally just wrote that :p) and pick DUST up September 18th when I have it on sale for the release day only!

You can find all the blog tour stops here! And Devon is hosting some awesome giveaways, you can enter by filling out the form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway