Aug 31, 2012

Ready, Set, Read-Athon: Start & Goals!


The Ready, Set, Read-Athon is hosted by Faye @ A Daydreamer's Thoughts and Danie & Kate @ Booktacular!

The read-a-thon starts on Friday August 31st at midnight & ends on Sunday September 2nd.

For more info, visit the post HERE or HERE.

To sign up, visit the post HERE.

Link up your goal post HERE.

The twitter hashtag for the read-a-thon is #RSReadathon.

On Saturday there will be a twitter chat at 9 pm GMT (for me that will be 11 pm, so if I'm home, I'll definitely join). I love read-a-thon twitter chats :)

Now, my goals, I'm hoping to finish at least 2 books, and to read at least 600 pages.

Yeah, I'm planning to count the pages. I'll probably do at least one update post. I changed my mind, I'll update this post every day with my progress.

What I'll be reading?



Well, I'm such a moody reader, so I'm not good at sticking to my plans, and although I planned for the read-a-thon to start new books, that changed, so I'll continue reading 2 previously started books (Seraphina & Seeds of Rebellion), hopefully I'll finish them, and on my reading list are: Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver & Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Midnight Palace, although if my mood changes, I can always pick up something else. ;)
 

 Total number of pages read: 1200

Total number of books read/finished: 3

Ok, I'm scheduling this post to goes up at midnight, and because at the moment I'm reading Seeds of Rebellion by Brandon Mull (I can't seem to put it down), I will be reading it at midnight when the read-a-thon starts, so that's my first book I'll be reading for the read-a-thon!

Happy reading!!!



My Daily Updates:

Day 1:


Number of pages read: 397

~ 237 pages read from Seeds of Rebellion

~ 160 pages read from Shiver 



Books finished/read: 0


Day 2: 


Number of pages read: 305

~ 120 pages read from Seeds of Rebellion

~ 75 pages read from Shiver

~ 110 pages read from Seraphina



Books finished/read: 1

~ Seeds of Rebellion by Brandon Mull


Day 3:


Number of pages read: 498

~262 pages read from Seraphina

 ~ 17 pages read from the prequel The Audition

~ 158 pages read from Shiver

~ 61 page read from The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis

 

Books finished/read: 2
  
~ Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

~ The Audition by Rachel Hartman (short story prequel)

~ Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater  

Aug 30, 2012

What's Next? #9

What's Next? is a weekly meme hosted by IceyBooks.

Every Thursday, select 3-5 books (not too many, not too little!) that you want to read but can't decide which one to read first.
Post the cover, and if you want, the synopsis or even a random line from the book, for each of your selections.
At the end of your post, ask readers to vote on which one you should read next!

Even if you don't end up reading your readers' top choice, you'll know what the majority is excited for.
For more info, visit the introduction post HERE!

To participate, go HERE!


My picks this week are:


The Midnight Palace (Mist #2) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón


 
In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery...

Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . .

Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night - and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.

 

Preordained (Preordained #1) by Kelly Libsack


 
Left alone in this world when her father dies, eighteen-year-old Faith Beshert learns that he took an ancient truth to his grave, a truth that would have explained the history of her bloodline and the role it plays in a wager between God and Satan.

Faith isn't spiritual or religious. In-fact she doesn't believe in any of it. However, when two angels disguised as gorgeous young men enter her life and steal her heart, she's exposed to the existence of the other side and a responsibility she's meant to fulfill.


Jenny Pox (The Paranormals #1) by J. L. Bryan

 
Eighteen-year-old Jenny Morton has a horrific secret: her touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague, the "Jenny pox." She lives by a single rule: Never touch anyone. A lifetime of avoiding any physical contact with others has made her isolated and painfully lonely in her small rural town.

Then she meets the one boy she can touch. Jenny feels herself falling for Seth...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the deadly pox inside her to confront his ruthless and manipulative girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

 

Besieged (The Outcast Chronicles #1) by Rowena Cory Daniells


Sorne, the estranged son of a King on the verge of madness, is being raised as a weapon to wield against the mystical Wyrds. Half a continent away, his father is planning to lay siege to the Celestial City, the home of the T'En, whose wyrd blood the mundane population have come to despise. Within the City, Imoshen, the only mystic to be raised by men, is desperately trying to hold her people together. A generations long feud between the men of the Brotherhoods and the women of the sacred Sisterhoods is about to come to a head. 
With war without and war within, can an entire race survive the hatred of a nation? 
Rowena Cory Daniells, the creator of the bestselling Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin, brings you a stunning new fantasy epic, steeped in magic and forged in war.


So, what do you think, which one of these novels I should read next?

 Have you read any of these & if you did, what did you think about them?

Leave me a comment & help me decide!

Aug 29, 2012

WWW Wednesdays #66!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?
This weekly meme is being hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading!

 

What are you currently reading?



 
At the moment, I'm re-reading Brandon Mull's A World Without Heroes - I'm almost done, and once more I love it, and I'm planning to return to reading Rachel Hartman's Seraphina - I'm finally in a mood for fantasy, and I should finish it :) 
 

What did you recently finish reading?



The last two books I finished (which was last week, still haven't finished a book this week) are Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (my review) & Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick (my review).


What do you think you'll read next?

 

I'm planning to read Seeds of Rebellion, the sequel to A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull, and I'm planning to finally read Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver.

"Lucky in Love" by Jill Shalvis (ARC)

 
 
Title: Lucky in Love

Author: Jill Shalvis

Series: Lucky Harbor #4

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Imprint: Forever

Publication date: June 1st, 2012

ISBN: 9781455503728



(Book read from an e-copy acquired through NetGalley from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.) 



My rating: 4 of 5 
 

Summary:


Mallory Quinn has had enough of playing it safe. As a nurse and devoted daughter, she takes care of everyone but herself. And as the local good girl, she's expected to date Mr. Right. But for once, she'd like to take a risk on Mr. Wrong. And who could be more wrong than Ty Garrison? The mysterious new guy in town has made it clear that he's only passing through, which suits Mallory just fine. Besides, his lean, hard body and sexy smile will give her plenty to remember once he's gone... 

For the first time in his life, Ty can't bear to leave. Helping this sexy seductress-in-training walk on the wild side is making him desire things he shouldn't, including leaving the military for good. As their just-for-fun fling becomes something more, Mallory and Ty wonder if they could really be this lucky in love. After all . . . anything can happen in a town called Lucky Harbor.


 
 

My Thoughts on the Book:


I read Lucky in Love after reading the following books in the series At Last & Forever and a Day. Although I loved it, Jill's books are always so much fun, and I loved seeing Matt, Amy, Grace & Josh again, I have to say that this is probably my least favourite among these three, but still so good & a fun contemporary romance. 
Here we see when Mallory, Amy & Grace share for the first time a chocolate cake, and the following scene with Ty - so funny. This whole book was just so funny & yummy.   
I really liked Mallory & Ty as characters, and they were great together of course, and Lucille as always cracked me up.
So, if you're a fan of fun contemporary romances in small-town settings, with quirky & funny secondary characters, then I highly recommend this book and the series!
 

Challenges:


"Waiting On" Wednesday #87: Rage Within, Full Blooded & Carnival of Souls!

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

 
 
 
Rage Within
(Dark Inside #2) 
by
Jeyn Roberts

Publication date:
September 4th, 2012
 
 
In this apocalyptic sequel to Dark Inside, four teens continue the struggle for survival as they face a world gone mad.  

Aries, Clementine, Michael, and Mason have survived the first wave of the apocalypse that wiped out most of the world’s population and turned many of the rest into murderous Baggers. Now they’re hiding out in an abandoned house in Vancouver with a ragtag group of fellow teen survivors, trying to figure out their next move.

 Aries is trying to lead, but it’s hard to be a leader when there are no easy answers and every move feels wrong. Clementine is desperate to find her brother Heath, but it’s impossible to know where he’d be, assuming he’s alive. Michael is haunted by the memories of his actions during his harrowing struggle to survive. And Mason is struggling with something far worse: the fear that he may be a danger to his friends.

 As the Baggers begin to create a new world order, these four teens will have to trust and rely on each other in order to survive.





 
Full Blooded
(Jessica McClain #1) 
by
Amanda Carlson

Publication date:
September 1st, 2012
 
 
Born the only female in an all male race, Jessica McClain isn’t just different - she’s feared.

After living under the radar for the last twenty-six years, Jessica is thrust unexpectedly into her first change, a full ten years late. She wakes up and finds she’s in the middle of a storm.
 
Now that she’s become the only female full-blooded werewolf in town, the supernatural world is already clamoring to take a bite out of her and her new Pack must rise up and protect her.




 
Carnival of Souls 
by
Melissa Marr

Publication date:
September 4th, 2012
 
 
In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures - if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father - and every other witch there - fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and Graveminder, comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

Aug 28, 2012

"Forever and a Day" by Jill Shalvis (ARC)

 
 
Title: Forever and a Day

Author: Jill Shalvis

Series: Lucky Harbor #6

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Imprint: Forever

Publication date: July 31st, 2012

ISBN: 9781455503698



(Book read from an e-copy acquired through NetGalley from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.) 



My rating: 4.5 of 5 
 

Summary:


LOVE CAN HAPPEN IN A HEARTBEAT.

Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s loveable mutt to caring for his rambunctious kids. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad…

With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family - until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “good bedside manner.” Josh and Grace don’t know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day…


 
 

My Thoughts on the Book:


From the beginning, Forever and a Day was so funny, I laughed out loud so many times while reading it, starting with the puppy Tank, Toby - the adorable son of Josh, and Josh's sister Anna. Poor Josh - he's such a workaholic, working at 2 places, taking care of his son & sister (who drives him crazy on purpose), and on top of all that a puppy. So, he wants to hire a dog walker & he needs a babysitter, too, so accidentally Grace ends up taking care of Tank, Toby & Anna. 
The dialogues between all the characters were hilarious &/or adorable, the chemistry between Josh & Grace was sizzling, and I loved the interactions between them, and I loved them as a couple.   
Jill Shalvis has written another great book that joins my list of favorite books, and a book I know I'll enjoy reading again & again, so I highly recommend it. 

Challenges: