A Better Monday

We all know how dreadful Mondays are, so I decided to perk mine up with the acceptance of an award!

This award was given to me a while back by Nikki at Nikki's Starbucks Reviews and then again recently by Gabrielle of The Mod Podge Bookshelf.

To accept this award you must:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)

4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

So here are 7 things about me:

1.  My dream career is to be a stunt car driver. 'Cuz I like to drive wild!

2.  It takes me less than 10 minutes to shower but over an hour to do my hair to my satisfaction!

3.  I HATE Pumpkin Pie!

4.  I can't draw to save my life though I wish I could paint a picture - just once!

5. I wish I was a bear so I could hibernate during the winter. I hate the cold.

6. Before I discover young-adult, I read nothing but true crime books. There was one so disturbing, I put it down and never ever picked it back up!

7. The only sport I like to watch is football and the only sport I like to play is volleyball.

I bestow this award upon:

1. i swim for oceans

2. The Reader Room

3. Irresistible Reads

4. Christi the Teen Librarian

5. That Hapa Chick

6. Imagination in Focus

7. The Phantom Paragrapher

8. Things Liz Loves

9. The Paperback Princesses

10. Hooked on Books

11. YA Urban

12. Confessions of a Teen Bookaholic

13. I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read

14. Ashley's Bookshelf

15. That Bookish Girl

Thanks again guys!

In My Mailbox

Hey Guys!

This is my first official In My Mailbox which was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren! In My Mailbox is a way to share the books you received each week.

Just yesterday I received from Dundurn Press Ltd. three titles from Deborah Kerbel!

Girl on the Other Side, Mackenzie, Lost and Found and Lure!

I will be hosting a giveaway of Lure so stay tuned for those dates!

Sooo, what did you get?

Extended Giveaway

I've decided to extend my giveaway of Gemini Night by Bonnie Hill Hearn to give more people a chance to enter. The Giveaway will be running until November 26! Right after the holidays, you've had your fill of turkey and stuffing and Black Friday shopping! I'll take the qualifying entries and pick the winner using random.org. The winner will be announced that evening.

If you'd like to enter, here's what you gotta do: you must
be a follower to qualify (1 point), leave a comment telling me your sign and what your favorite part of being that sign is - please be sure to leave this comment under my giveaway post (1 point), follow me on Twitter @elaineblogs (1 point) and another two bonus points if you comment with a picture of your zodiac tattoo (2 points)!

Ends November 26!

I have to give a shout out to some great blogger friends for helping me spread the word about this giveaway: Ashley's Bookshelf, Surrounded By Words and The Mod Podge Bookshelf who is currently participating in Second Hand Saturday! Check it out!

Thanks guys!

The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Book 1

Today I received a copy of The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire #1) for review! Isn't it funny how the mere mention of a book, can make it pop-up all over the place? Check out this great review of The Greyfriar written by Melissa at i swim for oceans!

 

Vampire predators run wild in this exciting steampunk adventure, the first in an alternate history trilogy that is already attracting attention. In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath. One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender: a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions.

Release date: November 18, 2010 - Paperback

Better Late Than Never

Here are some books that I either bought myself, received for review or gotten as a gift in the last month...or so.

Torment (Fallen, #2) by Lauren Kate, Leadership by Rudolph Giuliani and The Collected Poems of Sara Teasdale by Sara Teasdale were given to me by a very good friend. He even had the Mayor sign his book for me! Not only that but he searched high and low for the collected poems of my favorite poet...of all time!

Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark was given to my aunt who then gave it to me. It's not my cup of hot chocolate (I don't drink coffee and tea is only good when you're sick) but she knows I never turn down a free book. Ever.

The Star Crossed Series was sent to me for review. Aries Rising, Taurus Eyes and Gemini Night are all the titles in the series so far. I hope Cancer is next - that's me! A copy of Gemini Night is currently up for grabs from my first GIVEAWAY! Ends November 20th!

I picked up Blood Song (Bloodsinger, #1) by Cat Adams and Nightshade (Nightshade, #1) by Andrea Cremer, which you can see I am currently reading now and is really good so far...I just started.

Shadow Riders by B.J. Bayle and Wild Spirits by Rosa Jordan were sent to me for review and to find reviewers for it. They are still available for review if you are interested. I would have to confirm their shipping limits but please email me at bloggerful_1@yahoo.com if you are interested.

GIVEAWAY!!!

Okay. I've been sitting on this giveaway for a little while now. It's the first giveaway I'm hosting so I hope you like it! This giveaway will run from November 12th to November 20th.

Do you love astrology? If so, this is the series for you! Here's your chance to win a free copy of the third book in the Star Crossed Series by Bonnie Hearn Hill:

  GEMINI NIGHT

STAR CROSSED: GEMINI NIGHT finds Logan McRae home from Writers Camp with a new mentor, a new boyfriend, a possible internship with the brand-new and highly anticipated CRUSH magazine, and an even stronger belief in the authority of astrology. As usual, trouble catches up with Logan fast. With the help of her two best friends, Paige and Chili, Logan hopes to get a handle on everything before disaster strikes. Weighed down by a troubled heart and nasty rumors at school, it won’t be easy, but Logan’s has the stars on her side.

Here are all 3 titles in the Star Crossed Series: Aries Rising, Taurus Eyes and Gemini Night.

Here's what you have to do. You get one entry point for being a follower of my blog. You must leave a comment for another entry point  telling me what your zodiac sign is and what you love about being that sign. Another entry point if you follow me on Twitter @elaineblogs.

If you have a tattoo of your sign, and you send me a picture of it (bloggerful_1@yahoo.com), I will give you an additional two (2) entry points.

So, let's add this up:

Follower: 1 point

Comment: 1 point

Follow on Twitter: 1 point

Picture of zodiac sign tattoo: 2 points

THIS GIVEAWAY IS FOR US RESIDENTS ONLY - sorry international followers :(

In the spirit of this giveaway, here is a picture of my zodiac sign tattoo and what I love about being a CANCER!!!

This was my very first tattoo (I have 4) I got when I was 17. It is located at the top of my back - which, I can't tell you how hard it was to get a picture of by myself! I love being a cancerian because we are ruled by our emotions. We feel everything deeply, good or bad and everything in between! Just like the crab, we are hard on the outside but soft, squishy and delicious with butter on the inside! The very best part is sharing my sun sign and exact birthday with my best friend!

DON'T FORGET - GIVEAWAY ENDS NOVEMBER 20TH!!

Thirst No. 3 Review

THIRST NO. 3, The Eternal Dawn

Written by: Christopher Pike

Publication date: October 5, 2010

Released in Paperback

5 stars

Synopsis:  Alisa has spent the past five thousand years as a vampire, living alone and fighting for survival. In her loneliness, Alisa cannot resist bringing Teri—a descendant of her human family—into her life. But Alisa is surrounded by death and destruction, and just by knowing Alisa, Teri’s life is at risk.

Alisa’s guilt grows when she becomes involved in a dangerous conspiracy. A top-secret group knows Alisa’s secret and will stop at nothing to use her powers for their cause. As Alisa desperately tries to protect herself and Teri from the unknown enemy, she discovers a force more powerful and more lethal than anything she has ever seen. Alisa doesn’t know who to trust, who to challenge, or who she will become….

My Review: First, let me just say how thrilled I am that Christopher Pike gave us a third book in this series! Thirst No. 2 had an actual ending so it surprised me to get another one! You can find my reviews of the first two books here!!

What I love about this series is that you're never bored! It's almost like every sentence is incomplete until you read the next sentence, and the next one and the next one and so on. Christopher Pike does not waste words. Each sentence tells you something important or leads you to the next sentence. It's hard to take a break while reading this book because you're always anxious to read the next thing.

Alisa is a 5,000 year old vampire; the girl is ancient! Try to imagine the mentality of a person who lived that long ago. The only things that would have mattered at that time, would be her family and her beliefs. Before her vampiric transformation, Alisa was likely a very simple, spiritual person and probably very primitive. These traits often surface in her present day life when necessary. I find that Alisa, even in her old age, can be ruthless yet vulnerable and the most superior being you've ever seen yet naive. In other words, she's managed to hold on to her humanity.

In this story, Alisa gets caught up in a huge conspiracy that involves beings she's never encountered before. She's always had faith in her powers and abilities but this situation causes her to doubt she'll be able to make it out alive! She never gives up. She never backs down. She knows one day her actions will get her killed but she's willing to take that risk when she discovers she has a living descendant, Teri. Alisa knows that the reason she needs to protect Teri is because she got her involved in the first place. Alisa is looking to settle down, so to speak. She wants to create a family and live happily and peacefully. But there is always some kind of evil breathing down her neck. But Alisa is a one-woman army and she diffuses threats with such style, creativity and finesse. She gets herself into such tight spots, I'm sitting there wondering "How is she going to get out of this one? There's no way!" There is such a twist at the end of this book, you never see it coming!

You can't go wrong with this series, it's got everything! Action, thrills and dry humor (which happens to be my favorite kind of humor). Some new characters are introduced and it all makes for a very exciting page turner!

Who Should Read This: Who doesn't like an action-packed story about a butt-kicking vampire?

Keep your eyes peeled for THIRST NO. 4, Summer 2011!!

I DO..SORTA..KINDA..WAIT..MAYBE..I DON'T KNOW

SURPRISE!

You may have been expecting my next review to be on Echoes by Melinda Metz - and I swear it will be coming...soon - but instead it will be this amazing book, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan, whom, by the way, will be stopping by OCTOBER 12th for a guest post while on her blog tour! Don't miss it! OCTOBER 12th!!!!!

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU SOMEONE ELSE

Written by: Erin McCahan
Publication date: June 1, 2010
Released in Hardcover and ebook

            5 STARS

HOW I CAME TO READ THIS: Through the YA Blogosphere.

Synopsis:  Seventeen-year-old Bronwen Oliver doesn't just want a family. She has one of those, and there's nothing terribly wrong with them apart from bickering grandparents, an image-obsessed mother and a brother she describes simply as Jesus. But there's no natural sense of connection between Bronwen and her family, leaving her with the belief -- and the hope -- that she was switched at birth, that she was never supposed to be Bronwen Oliver but someone else entirely.

When she begins dating college senior Jared Sondervan, she finds herself thoroughly embraced by the loving family she has always wanted and does not hesitate to say yes when Jared proposes on her 18th birthday. Plans for the Perfect Beach Wedding before her junior year of college become plans for the Perfect Beach Wedding before her freshman year of college. And a wedding so soon isn't exactly what Bronwen wants. But Jared is. And his family is. Or so she thinks.  

Before Bronwen can determine what she truly wants, she must first determine who she truly is, and the answer, she discovers, is only partially what she thought it was. She wasn't switched at birth, but she's also not Bronwen Oliver and hasn't been for a very long time.

MY REVIEW:  I have been advised to be honest in my reviews. I really didn't expect to like this book. I thought it was going to be some kind of hopeless romantic story about a girl who wished to the stars every night...blah blah blah, or something like that. I don't know. But this book, this story really surprised and impressed me. The meaning of this story is touching, so profound, it literally, I mean it, literally brought tears to my eyes! I do NOT find many books that can do that to me!

When I found out the date that Erin McCahan would be stopping by on her blog tour, I said "Ok, this is gonna have to be my next book." I was already reading something else. But that night, very late, I picked it up and next thing I knew it was...chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6 and it was 2am!

So Bronwen Oliver is a girl who is so unhappy with her family that she is pretty much convinced she was switched at birth. One of those situations where you are completely unhappy with a part of your life that could never be changed. Maybe some of you are familiar with that. I was. When I was very young. You learn to love yourself and I think that is what this book is about: Self-Acceptance along with Self-Discovery.

I loved watching (yes I said watching but you all know I mean reading) Bronwen and Jared fall in love. Not leaving out any of the lovely little things, like the anticipation building up to their first kiss, late-night phone calls, holding hands and stealing kisses. They get to know each other, which, I can not stress enough how important that one is! Love is built on knowing that person inside and out and still loving them! I digress. What Bronwen and Jared were building was real.

The conversations and the dialogue in this book is just so...I mean, McCahan had to have heard someone say it and then wrote it down! It's just so raw. It made the characters feel like real people. Sometimes you read a book and you love it. You love the characters, the overall story and everything else, but you're still aware of the fiction, the fantasy of the story. You're like, "That was good. Totally unrealistic. But good."  Someone Else was more like "Man, that was really good." And then you just sit there and let it soak in. Wow.

It wasn't just a book about self, but also of other. Bronwen was very naive to a lot of things. When she realized she didn't know every little thing about Jared, the man she was to marry, like the fact that he snored and sometimes it was horribly loud, she reacted as though it was the worst thing to happen to her relationship! If that's the worst thing in your relationship - stop and count your blessings!

Towards the end of the book, Bronwen has a breakthrough with her stepfather, Whitt. Had I been alone at the time I read this part, I would have sobbed for a minute or two, but I knew my almost 3-yr-old would not have understood why mommy just burst into tears! Only a few got away. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else had THE sweetest ending I've EVER read!

My absolute favorite part of this book? The fact that Bronwen is a picky eater! I'm a picky eater and I never see that in books. Bronwen despises ketchup - everything about it. Those are my exact feelings on tomato sauce!

A girl finding her identity. Learning not to define herself by whom she's with or by anyone elses standards. I strongly related to this story at this very point in my life. No, I'm not 18, on the verge of marrying someone while trying to find myself. No. But I am ready to redefine myself and be happy. The real kind of happy, none of that content-to-settle crap.

Gee, I hate to end my review with the word "crap", but, well, there it is.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS: The question is, Who shouldn't read this? I never liked the phrase/term "coming-of-age", but that's what this was and it worked out really great!

* DON'T FORGET *

GUEST BLOG - OCTOBER 12 - ERIN MCCAHAN

For Me and For You!

So, I think I started this post like, three times. Once about sleeping in on Saturdays and another about never being to get the right release dates from Goodreads. But that just kept leading me into these long rants and keeping me from getting to the point of my post. These are three books that I am genuinely equally excited about!

Thirst No. 3, The Eternal Dawn by Christopher Pike is out in stores now and on my bookcase! I love this series! Tons of action, vampires, and twists and turns you never see coming! You can find my review of the first two books HERE!

I might be a little late on this one but, just in case you haven't already seen it, I am sharing with you the new cover of Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3) by Maggie Stievfater. And if you have already seen the cover, well, can you ever really get sick of looking at it? I love that red is the new color for this book and I'm sure we can expect red ink on the inside! But the best part? Sam on the cover as a real boy and Grace as the wolf!

Next, I'd like to show you the cover of Blessed (Tantalize #3) by Cynthia Leitich Smith. This is the third book in a rather odd trilogy, in my opinion. The first two were unrelated to each other, and Blessed will have appearances of characters from both of them. You can find my reviews of the first two books here - Tantalize and Eternal.

Isn't that gorgeous? I love the blood-drop-like rose petals, the dress that looks like an angels wing. Ugh, I just love it and I can't wait for its release February 8, 2011!

Last but not least, here are two books I picked up yesterday at Borders:

                                                               

Morganville Vampires, Volume 2, (#3-4)             I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies, #1)

My my my! How that To-Be-Read list is growing!

Lucy by Laurence Gonzales

Hey guys! Can I call you that, is that ok? Well, once again I was asked to find some bloggers interested in receiving a book for review. Bridget from Knopf Publicity sent a copy to me super fast! Here's what I got:

click here

An explosive, daring novel that suggests what might happen when a young girl is discovered to be the result of the experimental breeding of human and ape.

Lucy, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a primatologist, a girl who has had only apes as playmates, is rescued from the jungles of the Congo during a civil war uprising and brought to live in the suburbs of Chicago. The stunning revelation of who—and what—she is sets in motion her fight for survival and for her very right to exist.

Here is a novel that has as its underpinnings the moral, ethical, and philosophical issues of cutting-edge biotechnology, genetic engineering, and cloning, and that masterfully explores what it means to be human . . .

So now that I've put that out there, I have a question. Should I not use my personal blog to find reviewers for books that are sent to me through the YA Blogosphere? Is that wrong? Should I not do that or should I do it more? It just seemed like common sense to offer you, my follower, a chance to review some great books! Think on that. Get back to me. ;)