Top Ten Tuesday 19

 

Top Ten Books to Read if You Like "X"

 

If you like...  check out   

If you like  check out  

Firebolt by Adrienne Wood Review with Interview and Giveaway!

Dragonian: Firebolt (1)

by Adrienne Woods

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published: Nov 2013

Pages: 288

Summary:  "Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.
Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena’s in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena’s heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena’s going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.
Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales. Now it’s time for Elena to believe – in herself"" 

 

Guest Post/Interview I was offered to share with you.

1. What do you write about? Tell us a little about your previously published works.

I love ya, fantasy, paranormal and women’s fiction. I also write in all those genre’s but under

different names. Firebolt is the first book I’m going to publish but more are going to follow it.

2. How do you handle bad reviews? One thing you need to develop in this industry is a thick skin.

I always read my reviews, good or bad. If it’s something I can learn from, I will always thank the

reader. If it’s something nasty, I just try to ignore it, and move on. Your opinion about my story is

your opinion. If you can’t tell me why you didn’t like it, then I can’t learn from it. I love any type of

feedback and almost never see them as good or bad. As long as a review can teach me something,

it’s good in my opinion. The one thing you need to keep in mind, is that not everyone is going to love

your novel. I know that there are readers out there that didn’t love Twilight or Fifty Shades and look

where they are today.

Dewey's #Readathon recap and wrap-up

 

Sorry this is so late.  I needed sleep after being up for the 24 hours (yes I made it all 24 hours no sleep).  Then we had the second day of the festival, followed by a long drive home just to find out there was a major power outage.  So just got the power back on so I can post properly.    I almost tried from my phone but it is too frustrating being online with it. 

End of the event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The first hour-I was not awake yet and I am not a morning person.  The event started at I time I normally go to bed around.  The last hour-I kept nodding off at this point, reading was slow but I not only made it...I finished the book I was reading!
2.  Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  All the books I read were good.  Although Thirst was too long I think even though it is fast paced
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?  Start per the times listed!!!   I am in California which was stated for 5 am.  4:55 am, I log onto Dewey's site to learn it has already started 55 minutes prior!  23 hours later...the event is over.  What happened?!  Also-for prizes be sure we have more book of choice option in the US or a wider range of genres.  UK had a good range. INT had almost all the Book Depositry and gift card choices and US was excluded from them. 
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?  Loved the tweeting going on.  First time I ever got into using twitter.
5. How many books did you read? Completed 2 titles, made progress in 2 others.
6. What were the names of the books you read?  See further down this post...
7. Which book did you enjoy most?  Firebolt. 
8. Which did you enjoy least?  Freak of Nature-not because of the book itself but I was reading it on my phone which I hate.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?  N/A
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?  Yes, but I might only do the October one.  The last weekend of April is a festival for us and it was frustrating to try and balance the two events.   I would still read.  Perhaps do an mini-game or be a cheerleader.  Even though I wasn't an official cheerleader, I tried to get on twitter at least a couple times to tweet at other readers.  It was actually fun and rewarding in itself.

So here is the final breakdown:

Dewey's #Readathon update 3

 

So this evening is going much better!

I completed a re-read for:

Books I have made progress in:

Dewey's Mid Event survey

1. What are you reading right now?  Thirst

2. How many books have you read so far? Haven't finished any yet :(


3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?  Sons of Set and Firebolt are the two highest on my list if I can get my kindle to work right.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?  No.  Sadly This event falls on the busiest event day for my fiance as well.  He helps head a big Festival that takes place the last weekend of April.  Go figure...

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?  Yes!  The Kite Festival owned mt daylight hours.  The first half of this read-a-thon is almost non-existant for me.  I was hoping to read on the beach during the festival but 40 mph wind makes that impossible.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?  The fact that is started an hour earlier.  I am in California which was suppose to be 5am.  Yet 5am had us on hour 1.  4 pm has us at hour 12...

Dewey's Read-A-Thon update 2

 

So this afternoon was an all around bust!  The beach festival was extremely windy.  Impossible to do any reading.  In fact I am still shaking out sand from Thirst for even trying to read.  So the only reading was during lunch in the truck.  Otherwise my afternoon was spent chasing tarps, kites and helping kids.  Off to go shower then read for a bit. I do have a dinner event for us Festival hosts but otherwise it is reading, reading and more reading from here on out!!

Books I have made progress in:

 

No change from last time...

Total Pages read:  143 pages

Sad....So sad..still have 1/2 the event to go. 

Lunch and snacks today so far: Pulled pork sandwich, mini Reese's peanut butter cup, Triscuits.

Read for Charity update:  So far-5 comments = 50 minutes of volunteer time from me. 

1 hr for pages read

Total: 1 Hr, 50 min.
Vote here to decide where my time should go.

Dewey's Read-A-Thon-Update 1

 

Alright, so I have now been up for 3 hours!  Off to a slow start but now I am more awake and hope to pick up the pace.  However, multitasking this and a festival for the next 8 hours.  Then solid read time all evening/night long!  I started off reading on my phone so as not to wake my fiance.  Joy of sharing a hotel room-nowhere to go and turn on a light without disturbing him.  Lucky for me, he is awake now.

  Happy Reading!

Books I have made progress in:

 

Kick off! Dewey's Read-A-Thon April 2014

 

Kick Off!

So I gues this got started an hour before the event but being West Coast, starting here at 5 am is bad enough so here we go...

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?    "Rainy" California

 2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  Oh my, I grabbed so many favorites, but realistically based on what I might get through, I think

  

these take the lead... Sorry, I cannot choose just one.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?   The watermelon I have cut up into cubes...

Preparing for the read-a-thon

 

So I am getting ready here for my first Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-thon.    Very excited to see how this all plays out but also a bit overwhelmed.  In addition to this read-a-thon my fiance is participating in a kite festival so I will be helping with that too.  So my reading (and posts) may be a bit sporadic.  

To push me to get some good reading over the 24 period, I am also volunteering for charity

So here is how I will add up the time to give.

• 1 hour for every 100 pages read (excluding graphic novels)
• 3 hours for each book (non graphic novel/novella) I complete.
•  2 hours for each graphic novel I complete 
• 2 hours for each novella (anything under 180 pages)
• 10 minutes for every comment others make on any  post  relating to this read-a-thon made this weekend.  Also comments on my facebook page will count the same way  (Spam comments do not count and user comments only count once per hour-so no thinking to throw a lot of comments just to rack up the time)

Now I need your help to choose where I volunteer:

How should I volunteer?
	Elderly home/center
	Youth Center
	Animal Shelter
pollcode.com free polls

Here are some of the books I pulled aside as some possible reads (and no I don't think I can get through them all but this gives me a good variety)

 

Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman (review)

 

Murderer Mysteries 

By Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by P. Craig Russell

 

Genre: Graphic Novel, Paranormal

Published: May 2014 

(originally published in 2002)

Pages: 112

Published by Dark Horse Comics 

 

 

 

 

Summary:  "Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell venture into the world of myth and angels in this new edition of their noir-fantasy tale. Constructing and maintaining all of heaven and earth is an immense task, which God has divided up amongst the various ranks and stations of angels. As with any huge effort, there are bound to be casualties. Lights is shed on the lords behind creation as one lonely man in Los Angeles hears the story of one particular unspeakable crime: a murder in Paradise."

 

 

 

Review:  This was my first Neil Gaiman comic. It. could debatably by my last. While I do like Neil Gaiman in general this was trash in my opinion. There is one thing about the thing I liked. That's it. Just one (which I will share down the line). And let me also start off with informing readers-this is NOT for kids!

Stacking the Shelves 42

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, every Weekend. This is to share books I have acquired from various sources. Physical books & ebooks both are welcome. If its something being sent to me by mail, I will not mention it until I actually receive it. 

 

♥  ♦  ♣  ♠

  For Review

“She’s still in there.”

It’s been three months since Emily’s demon has awakened inside of her. Months of burning pain, taunting, and most tortuous of all…silence.

Emily is forgotten.

Or is she?

Asher continues to accept his destiny, though he suffers. Gwyn will do anything to protect him, including treachery. And Derek, a demon with no past and only mocking charm as his guise, is planning the biggest coup of all.

And he knows exactly how to begin…

Macy.    

*I advise reading the first book for this summary to make more sense.   This is the book I was most excited to get this week.  Here is my review of book 1 (Dark Souls)  -Jamie

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One minute, twenty-four-year-old Sophie Hansa is in a San Francisco alley trying to save the life of the aunt she has never known. The next, she finds herself flung into the warm and salty waters of an unfamiliar world. Glowing moths fall to the waves around her, and the sleek bodies of unseen fish glide against her submerged ankles.

The world is Stormwrack, a series of island nations with a variety of cultures and economies—and a language different from any Sophie has heard.

Sophie doesn't know it yet, but she has just stepped into the middle of a political firestorm, and a conspiracy that could destroy a world she has just discovered… her world, where everyone seems to know who she is, and where she is forbidden to stay.

But Sophie is stubborn, and smart, and refuses to be cast adrift by people who don't know her and yet wish her gone. With the help of a sister she has never known, and a ship captain who would rather she had never arrived, she must navigate the shoals of the highly charged politics of Stormwrack, and win the right to decide for herself whether she stays in this wondrous world . . . or is doomed to exile.

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Nineteen-year-old Jenny is more content staring at the night sky than joining her friends on a night on the town. She’s only known them two months, since classes began for her second year at university, but she’s already head over heels with one of her housemates, Dale. Every conversation she’s had with Dale has ended with her stuttering out an excuse to escape.

Then the first meteor blazes through the night, landing close enough to shake the house. Suddenly, she’s the one with all the answers, the one her friends and Dale turn to. Having spent so much time glued to a telescope, they expect her to know what’s happening. But Jenny’s never seen a meteor big enough to impact, and certainly never the thing that rises from the crater.

It’s a man who glows with a light so hot, everything in its path is disintegrated. Soon after, the night sky is turned to day, coming alive with hundreds more, all with one mission: rid Earth of that which is killing her.

Earth has been watched, and the things watching have decided that the human race’s time is up. Too much damage has been done, and they have decided that it’s time to let Earth recover, to start again. The only way they see that happening is by wiping out the human race.

Jenny knows another way, one that will save both Earth and humanity. But it isn’t simply a case of finding the nearest official and explaining everything. No one wants to listen to a nineteen-year-old and her friends. They must take their idea directly to the Stars and somehow convince them to listen. But to get there they first have to survive, and survival comes at a price. 

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From the wise and mysterious soothsayer with his long grey beard to the deathless necromancer practicing his dark magics in a forgotten dungeon, wizards have captured our imaginations since the earliest days of human storytelling, presenting us with some of our greatest heroes and villains. This book collects the tales of the most interesting, popular, and important spell-casters from history, including such legendary figures as Merlin, Simon Magus, Hermes Trismegistus, Koschei the Deathless, Nicholas Flamel, Dr John Dee, and Johann Georg Faust. Written to appeal to the modern reader, each tale captures the drama, the tragedy, and the wonderment that has ensured that these stories have survived the passing centuries. Each story is also examined in its historical, mythological, and thaumaturgical contexts.

Feature and Follow 8

 

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  

  What is feature and Follow? A weekly Friday topic (or activity) is given to share and we all take turns blog hopping, leaving comments and following one another.  If someone leaves a comment, be sure to comment back.  If someone follows you, follow them.  Always follow the hosts and the featured blog (see host site for more details). 

Spring Break. Where would be your favorite destination spot if you could join the Spring Break festivities?

 

I would rent a lake cabin up in the mountain.  Might or might not invite a few friends alone.  I am torn.  time alone to read and relax or fun, swimming and BBQ with friends.  Or a good mix I think is best.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (review)

 

Warm Bodies (1)

by Isaac Marion

Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult, Romance, Horror

Published: April 2011

Pages: 239

Published by Atria  

Summary:  "R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse. Just dreams.

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a burst of vibrant color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that R lives in. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world...

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead and the blurry line in between."

Review:  What an entertaining delight! I first heard of this book through the movie trailer. I was very skeptical about this, yet oddly curious at the same time. A zombie who falls in love.... I did not know what to expect getting into this. What I ended up experiencing was a story like no other.

Top Ten Tuesday 18

Top Ten Bookish Things (That Aren't Books) That I'd Like To Own

Well, my number 1 thing would have been my own library setup but that dream is in the works right now and will be completed within the next few months so here are some things to go along with it in no particular order:

  

1) I am always loaning books out to people.  So lets make it more official plus up the chances of me getting my books back.  

 

2) Card filer for my books.  Yes I am listing them on goodreads but I also love this old-fashioned system, plus if a site goes done, I have this still and this can tell me more specifics (book condition, where it is, etc).  I have enough books to make this work.

 

3) A reading sanctuary.  Love this one.

4) Bookish shirts!

Rainy Day Reads Giveaway

 

So this hop is all about what we like to read on a rainy day.  Honestly, I do not have a particular favorite title but i am a sucker for a good mystery.  By it a cozy mystery, or something darker, or even some gothic romance with a bit of mystery.  Just curl on on the couch with some hot cider or tea and delve into the unknown.  Keeps my mind active and distracted with the clouds outside are gray and gloomy.  

So I am offering up a chance for you to win your own mystery.  Any mystery book of choice from The Book Depository, up to $15, as long as they offer free shipping to you.  Or an ebook mystery of choice for those who do not qualify for a print copy or prefer eBooks.

April 2014 New Release Giveaway Hop

 

Pick any book that is released this month (April 2014) and enter for your chance to win it!   Win any book up to $20.  Win a print book from the book depository if they offer free shipping to your address or win an eBook copy of the title you want.   Here are some possibilities but do not feel limited by them. 

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (review) and GIVEAWAY!

 

The Testing (1)

by Joelle Charbonneau

Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult

Published: June 2013

Pages: 336

Published by Houghton Mifflin Books 

Summary:   "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same?

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one.

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust."

Review:  I loved this book! An amazing dystopian novel that is very realistic and believable. One of the best heroines I have read about in recent years. and a world that, while devastated, is one I almost wish I could visit to see what it it like. Lucky for readers, Joelle Charbonneau does a wonderful job in her deliverance of this world to us.

Stacking the Shelves 41

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, every Weekend. This is to share books I have acquired from various sources. Physical books & ebooks both are welcome. If its something being sent to me by mail, I will not mention it until I actually receive it. 

 I am working some major changes for my books right now.  My soon-to-be-husband and I bought a shed that we will be turning into a personal library/quiet space room!  Very excited but lots of work ahead once we get it.  We are building it ourselves so its build, roof, paint, insulate, paint inside, build shelves...you get the idea.  So lots ahead over the next few months but once it is done, expect some awesome pics or even a video walk through sometime this summer.

 With getting  my bookroom means sorting the books I have.  So I started that and started lots of swaps on bookmooch.  Lots of older books going out and filling in some holes in series' I have started to collect.  Fun stuff!  So overall a very busy book week.   I also won a few books on Goodreads recently so I have fun books to review.  Here is some of what I got this week:

♥  ♦  ♣  ♠ 

  For Review

 

A stolen child.
An ancient evil.
A father’s descent.
And the literary masterpiece that holds the key to his daughter’s salvation.

Professor David Ullman is among the world’s leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Not that David is a believer—he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a “phenomenon,” he turns her down. She leaves plane tickets and an address on his desk, advising David that her employer is not often disappointed.

That evening, David’s wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively whisks his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess, off to Venice after all. The girl has recently been stricken by the same melancholy moods David knows so well, and he hopes to cheer her up and distract them both from the troubles at home.

But what happens in Venice will change everything.

First, in a tiny attic room at the address provided by the Thin Woman, David sees a man restrained in a chair, muttering, clearly insane . . . but could he truly be possessed? Then the man speaks clearly, in the voice of David’s dead father, repeating the last words he ever spoke to his son. Words that have left scars—and a mystery—behind.

When David rushes back to the hotel, he discovers Tess perched on the roof’s edge, high above the waters of the Grand Canal. Before she falls, she manages to utter a final plea: Find me.

What follows is an unimaginable journey for David Ullman from skeptic to true believer. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David must track the demon that has captured his daughter and discover its name. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever.

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Only by Letting Go of Yourself Will You Become Who You Are

New York, 2050: Daniel is enmeshed in a world in which he does not belong, which he finds loathsome, intolerable. Orphaned as a young child, he has in his 23 years never known family or friendship. The City lies in the secure grip of the IDSC, a draconian organization charged with the security and stability of the United States. This fact, ever present, undeniable, seems far removed from a man who lacks not just a sense of community but a sense of self as well. And he is plagued by nightmares, which he cannot understand yet nonetheless push him toward the unknown, the darkness of all that may be.
After meeting a beautiful woman named Alena and her father Thorin, he and Thorin leave The City, set on a mysterious destination known simply as The Centre. The journey traces not only Daniel's path away from New York but also the incremental revelation of his past and true self, bringing closer the actuality of where he has come from, what he is, and what he is destined to become.
24 years earlier, Peter, Andrew, and a younger Thorin leave The Bay, set on a historic gathering in Philadelphia, which unbeknownst to them will initiate events that will change their lives, alter the very reality to which they've been accustomed, forever.

Along the way they are joined by Edith, a thoughtful, Kind girl from Salt Lake City, and meet Jonathan, a mysterious man with a taste for good cognac and good times with Friends.

The situation in Philadelphia, however, is not what they expect, and soon all turns to chaos, from which the friends emerge changed, each set on different ends. Andrew enlists with a man called Michael, chairman of an enigmatic organization known simply as IDSC. Thorin leaves to stay with his fiancée in Washington D.C. Edith returns to her now seemingly boring life in Salt Lake. Peter... Peter returns to San Francisco, alone and disillusioned.

What none of them realize, what they would never suspect, is that they are already being moved by an intricate plan, a device of Fate and the vision of one who would change the nature of the U.S. and the world itself. When they are at last brought back together, the results are catastrophic, shaking their world to the core.

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From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures.

Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch.

Thomas and Charles are brothers who’ve been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can’t.

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Our world is no longer our own. We engineered a race of superior fighters -- the Manti, mutant humans with insect-like abilities. Twenty-five years ago they all but destroyed us. In Sanctuary, some of us survive. Eking out our existence. Clinging to the past.

Some of us intend to do more than survive.
* * *
Asha and Pax -- strangers and enemies -- find themselves stranded together on the border of the last human city, neither with a memory of how they got there.

Asha is an archivist working to preserve humanity’s most valuable resource -- information -- viewed as the only means of resurrecting their society.

Pax is Manti, his Scarab ship a menacing presence in the skies over Sanctuary, keeping the last dregs of humanity in check.

Neither of them is really what they seem, and what humanity believes about the Manti is a lie.

With their hearts and fates on a collision course, they must unlock each other's secrets and forge a bond of trust before a rekindled conflict pushes their two races into repeating the mistakes of the past.

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For years, the door has stayed closed. Hannah Silver hardly notices it as she goes about her strange life in an isolated lighthouse. But when a pair of mysterious strangers -- a boy and his guardian -- show up at the lighthouse, things start to go very wrong. Hannah's life is shattered. And the door is now wide open.

In order to save herself and her family, Hannah must walk through this door.

Into another world.

A world where she doesn't belong.

A world that wants to capture her and make sure she never makes it back home.

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After following a mysterious map into the woods and then under the woods, eleven-year-old Albert Flynn learns he’s a Balance Keeper—someone with special magical skills for fixing problems in three underground Realms at the Core of the earth. His new job is important; if the realms fall out of balance, the world above could be in great danger.

Albert and his Balance Keeper teammates Birdie and Leroy arrive in the Core not a moment too soon. There’s an Imbalance in the Calderon Realm and it’s threatening to bury Albert’s hometown of New York City in a mountain of ash.

The three must train hard completing mental and physical challenges, but above all, they must harness the power of their Tiles—unique superpowers given to each Balance Keeper. So far, Albert’s mastered the art of not mastering his Tile....

With the situation in Calderon growing worse every day, can Albert, Leroy, and Birdie restore balance before New York is destroyed forever? Will Albert master his Tile before it’s too late?

Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson, The Unwanteds, and the classic Journey to the Center of the Earth.