Review: My Life Next Door

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Dial books for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 14th 2012
Pages: 395
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Source: Library
Goodreads

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over

My Life Next Door was probably my most anticipated book of the summer. From the time I first heard a blogger first mention how much this book I had to get my hands on it. My Life Next Door is the very cute, beautiful, and emotional story of Samantha Reed. Samantha lives the life her single mother has drawn up for her with a flawlessly clean house and attending her mother's reelection meetings for state senator, Samantha is getting pretty tired of it all. Every day Samantha watches her next door neighbors, the Garrents, and wishes more than anything that her life could be more like theirs. And then one day Jase Garret climbs up to her window and she gets pulled into their life and a relationship with Jase.

Samantha, the main character is a character that grows a lot through out the story. I really liked how she grew from watching the world she wanted to be part of, to actually joining the life and people that she wanted to live and be with. At the beginning she mainly does whatever her mother tells her, but after breaking out of her shell she is able to stand up for what is right when she is faced with an impossible dilemma. Jase Garret, the boy that lives next door who ends up capturing Samantha's heart is one of the nicest, most responsible characters I have ever read about. He is so caring for his siblings, his parents, and Samantha, and he seems to always know how to make things right. I really loved Jase to pieces. I really liked how the setting was very summery and had a very warm feel to it. The end of the story had a lot of internal conflict that was very well written and I really felt all of the conflict that Samantha endures with everything going on.

My Life Next Door is a great Contemporary Romance with a wonderful summery feel that I absolutely loved to pieces, highly recommended!

Review: Nightshade

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: October 19th 2010
Pages: 454
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Source: Bought (Signed!)
Goodreads

Calla is the alpha female of a shape-shifting wolf pack. She is destined to marry Ren Laroche, the pack's alpha male. Together, they would rule their pack together, guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But then, Calla saves a beautiful human boy, who captures her heart. Calla begins to question everything - her fate, her existence, and her world and the orders the Keepers have asked her to follow. She will have to make a choice. But will she follow her heart if it means losing everything, including her own life?

Nightshade is a book that has been on my radar for a long time but I had not gotten around to reading it until now. Ever since I first heard of this book right around the time I started book blogging, all I heard about the book was great things. Nightshade is a very well written story with a very unique plot and structure that is so unlike any other werewolf books I have read in the past.  Instead of being a typical werewolf story with just shape shifters, this story also brings in other unique magical beings that are either leaders or enemy to the shifters.

Calla, the main character in the story is a very strong minded girl who has been raised in the ways of the Guardians and is soon to become an Alpha female to Ren, the boy she has been paired with since the were very young. Unlike many stories with an arranged marriage aspect, Calla was not at all opposed to being paired with Ren for much of the story, which surprised me a lot, it was an interesting twist to the average story. Ren was an on-the-line character for me. Even though he was always good to Calla and he seemed like a very good boy, he also had a history of dating a LOT of other girls at their school even though he and Calla had been paired since they were very little. Shay, the human boy the Calla saves, is a very adventurous boy that would do anything to protect Calla after she helped him. I see Shay like a little boy who is just a bit star-stuck after witnessing Calla shifting from wolf to human to save him from a bear. I really didn't see a spark between Calla and Shay, more of just a really cute friendship.

Overall I loved the plot and the writing, but the romance was a bit complicated and I really didn't really see the spark between Shay and Calla.

Waiting on Wednesday 7/25/12 Hidden

Hidden by Sophie Jordan
Publication Date: September 11th 2012
Goodreads

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....

Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy

Review: Obsidian

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: November 29th 2011
Pages: 335
Genre: Paranormal/Science Fiction, Romance
Source: Library
Goodreads

Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.
The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.
If I don't kill him first, that is.

For the longest time I was seeing and hearing so many amazing things about this book and  how much bloggers everywhere loved it. Obsidian is a very intense, emotional, and action packed story about friendship, romance, and aliens. Seriously, aliens. I am a big fan of Armentrout's other series, The Covenant series but I really didn't like this one as much as I had been hoping.

My absolute favorite thing about this story was that the main character, Katy was a book blogger! Offline it seems like no one knows what a book blogger is and what they do and I really like that Armentrout added that to the story! What really bugged me about this book was the guy, Daemon. Daemon is a complete jerk and a control freak. For pretty much the entire book I thought it was pretty obvious that he really liked Katy in a relationship building sort of way, but when they finally did kiss he was a complete jerk about it afterward and there was chapter after chapter where he did similar things that were just super inexcusable.

Other than my obvious issues with Daemon, I really enjoyed the writing and the story about the aliens and why they are here on earth. Their story reminded me a lot of I am Number Four, another story about aliens coming to earth when there world was destroyed.

Overall I liked the story but Daemon, the love interest was just a huge jerk and I really couldn't stand him.

Book Haul 7/22/12

I haven't made a book Haul in quite a long time, but in the past three weeks or so I have gotten some pretty awesome books that I can't wait to read.

Endlessly by Kiersten White Won From Epic Reads

Saving June by Hannah Harrington Gifted by Harlequin Teen Panel

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman Won from Random  Buzzers

Jersey Angel (x2) and Swag from Random Buzzers Ambuzzadors

Make sure to check out my giveaway of Jersey Angel

What did you get the past few weeks? Have you read any of these? Comment and link below!

Here's A Thought: Cover Controversy

I remember earlier in the year I digging through some of the pictures on Book Riot's Facebook page when I stumbled upon this both surprising and very interesting grouping of pie charts breaking down the groups of people represented on Young Adult book covers.

I do not take credit for this photo. This picture was found here.

 Learning the statistics of the different groups being used on covers really made me realize how wide of a gap there is in what models are being chosen as models. What really surprised me was how characters of no defined ethnicity appears more than twice as much as the use of the models in the three lesser used character ethnicity.

After examining this photo for quite a while and thinking of it for much longer, I searched for the source of this eye opening piece of information. I was brought here where facts of various themes in covers.

Another very interesting statistic that I found was the use of male and female models on covers.

I do not take credit for this photo. Picture was found here.

This too made me really think about Young Adult literature today. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love YA and I think I always will, but when you really think about the groups of people that these books are targeting, you realize a lot more about the books, and the way they are marketed of specific groups thinking they will bring in larger readership.

I remember once hearing or reading something that Gary Paulsen once said about writing. He was once told by someone that he shouldn't even try to write for a boy readership, that he should write for girls because boys don't read. My thought on that is, if you only write what a girl would be interested in reading, than sure. Boy's won't read as much as girls. But if time is taken to appeal to all groups, than maybe a lot more people would be willing to read for the sake of reading in this world.

If you want to look at more interesting statistics about covers in 2011 please check out this website and please comment below with your thoughts.

Review: Firelight

Firelight By Sophie Jordan

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 7th 2010
Pages: 323
Source: Gifted
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy, Romance
Goodreads

A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.
Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—, a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.
Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.
Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

Firelight it a beautiful, enchanting Paranormal/Fantasy story about a Draki, a descendent of dragons. Her kind can shift between human and dragon forms and often have special talents. But the Draki are often hunted, and when Jacinda is hunted down by a group of hunters she knows it could very well be the death of her. But when a boy follows her into a cave during the search he doesn't kill her and leads his group away from her to saver her life. And then her mother takes her and her sister away from their safe Draki home and into the mortal world to keep her form the harsh Draki life that she would have had to endure there. In the mortal world she runs into lots of difficulty including keeping her dragon half alive, but then she runs into the boy that saved her life. And she falls for him. Hard.

I really, really loved this book. Right from the beginning the books starts off with a very magical feel that I absolutely adored to no end. The characters and creatures created in this book seem so beautiful and wonderful in this book I absolutely love them. Jacinda is an amazing character with a rebellious but innocent personality and I adore how courageous that she is throughout the book. Will, the boy Jacinda falls for is absolutely beyond words. Will comes from a family of Draki hunters who kill for money and skins. After Will sees Jacinda in dragon form, he refuses to lead his family to the Draki, and once he realizes that Jacinda is the one he saved, he doesn't even hesitate. I absolutly love Will and Jacinda, their romance is just so absolutely perfect!

This was a completely amazing book that I absolutely loved the whole way through. I can't wait for Vanish!

Waiting on Wednesday 7/18/12 Defiance

Defiance by C.J. Redwine
Publication Date: August 28th 2012
Goodreads

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

Review: Pure

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: April 3rd 2012
Pages: 329
Source: Library
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Goodreads

There is need. And then there is Fate...

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

This review should only be read by those who have read the first book, Half-blood.

After my extreme love of Half-blood (The fist book in this series) had been discovered I scrambled to get a copy of Pure, it's sequel as fast as I possibly could. Pure, in comparison to Half-Blood was just as addicting and loveable but with a slower, not as intense pace as the first book.

Like in the first book the characters were amazing and extremely well written. Alex still has a very rebellious and  hilarious personality and is over the top brave about everything she does. Aidan. Oh Aidan. I told myself going into this book if Alex and Aidan didn't kiss at lest once... I have no idea what would happen. I really really like the forbidden romance in this series. It seems so much different than it does in other forbidden romance books; this romance seems like a very real relationship. In Pure there is a lot more of Seth than there was in Half-Blood. I like that we got to learn a lot more about Seth in this book and people who are Team Seth I have a feeling will like this one a little more. There is much less action in this book then there was in the first. In the first there was a strong focus on training Alex, and now that she is more caught up this book focuses a bit more on the emotional side right before the very action packed end.

I really enjoy this series and I am very excited to get my hands on the 3rd in the series later this year!

Review: Unbreak My Heart

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publication Date: May 22nd 2012
Pages: 240
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life.

Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now.

Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart?

Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.

Unbreak My Heart is a very cute summer read that tells the story of Clem as she spends her summer on a boat with her family and figuring out the mistakes she made the past year that ruined her friendship with her best friend of years. On the trip she meets a boy that just might steal her heart, but with the trouble she's been having figuring out what happened to her friendship and a boy she liked back home before everything fell apart, she doesn't know if she can fall for him.

My favorite thing about this book was it's beautiful summer boating setting in which most of the story takes place. The whole setting has a very warm and beautiful feeling to it and I love the adventure and beauty that comes to mind when I picture it.

This story has a very strong hold on the importance of family communication and trust. Clem's little sister Olive appears in the story a lot, and she is always there to support and help Clem as well as add a little humor and cuteness to any situation. Her parents are also great people in the the story, they don't push for her to tell them what happened to her friendship but when she finally does they support her all the way and help her get over her troubles once and for all.  


The love interest, James is a boy who is taking the same trip with his father during the summer as Clem and her family is. I felt that James was very cute and a very nice boy, but I really didn't see why Clem would have been interested in him. James felt more like friend material then boyfriend material to me. 

Unbreak My Heart has a strong focus on friendship and being loyal to your friends as well as friendship resolutions. I really liked this part of the book because most young adult fiction seems to focus on romance and romantic relationships while this one was more about the emotional journey that Clem goes through after loosing her friend, Amanda. 

Other than the friendship aspect of the story, I really stated to hate Clem's best friend by the end of the story. Once the whole story of how Clem lost her friendship was let out I realized how both friends were at fault and how they both made mistakes. Clem was the one who made a mistake, and I understand how Amanda would take that, but after that Amanda refused to listen to Clem and she also did something that made me really mad, but I don't want to get into any spoilers so I can't really elaborate.


During more than half of the book Clem was very emotional and shut up in her room away from her family and the beautiful summer that was going on around her. I really didn't like how moody and anti-social that Clem was for nearly all of the book. She only became a happier person for the last few chapters of the book after she has told everyone whats been going on in her life and figures out what she's really upset about. 


Overall I liked this book but some of the characters really didn't cut it for me and I felt like there was way to much emotional-social-withdrawal going on during a lot of the book. 

Review: The Duff

The Duff by Kodi Keplinger

Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
Publication Date: September 10th 2010
Pages: 280
Source: Won ARC at Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

One of the things I remember hearing about this book before I read it was that it was really funny. I was a bit disappointed by the end of the book after realizing that no- it wasn't very funny at all, but much more of an emotional roller-coaster that the main character, Bianca has to work though. I'm not sure where I heard that it was funny, though it was a very well written and beautifully put together story about a girl struggling to figure out how to handle all of the very difficult situations that are thrown at her in her very messed up life.

Bianca, the main character, has a very snarky, outright attitude and she isn't really afraid to show it. Bianca was a very unique character, though not a very desirable person to hang out with, she was very interesting to read about. Wesley Rush, Bianca's worst enemy was the best developed character in the book. In the beginning Bianca hates Wesley, but over time Bianca slowly begins to understand Wesley and everything that he is dealing with and they are both able to advise each other about how to deal with their family troubles. This is a much more grown up version of YA that I do not suggest for anyone who is not mature enough to handle a more grown up book- I suggest being at least high school aged.

The Duff is a more mature YA with some very well written characters and resolutions, a very interesting story!

Waiting on Wednesday 7/11/12 Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas 
August 7th 2012

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone Author Interview + Giveaway

Kat Rosenfield

Hello everyone, today I am very lucky to have a chance to take part in my first blog tour with an Interview with the debut author of a very interesting new Young Adult Novel, Kat Rosenfield, the author of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone!

Erika: Welcome Kat, I'm super excited to get to talk to you today! Recently your debut novel, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone was released. What has your experience as a debut author been so far?

Kat: So far, my experience has gone back and forth between being so exciting that I feel like I might actually die, and being like, "Um, I wrote a book? Anyone? Bueller?" And oh, man, there have been a couple of incredibly thrilling moments since the day of publication (most notably the one where John Green mentioned AMELIA on Twitter and my computer nearly spontaneously combusted). But mostly, I'm still doing the same things I did before the book came out: biting my nails and stalking the book's Goodreads page and freaking out anytime someone so much as mentions it.

Erika: I actually saw John Green's mention of your book on twitter! Do you currently have another job other than writing Young Adult books?

 Kat: Several! I freelance full-time, so I write for a number of different outlets: primarily, I'm an advice columnist and humor writer on SparkLife, and I'm a daily contributor to MTV's Hollywood Crush, where I write about movie news, fashion, and gossip. Thanks to an agreement with my editor, I get to cover the sexy/naked beat, so any stories involving shirtless dudes usually come my way. (It's okay if you're jealous.)

Erika: What are some of the experiences you are looking forward to now that your book is out? Will you be doing any signing tours and events other or have you already? (Don't worry the next question is the fun one!)

Kat: Well, that depends: do you guys want events? Will you come? As a debut author, it can be especially tricky to pull them off; if nobody already knows you as a writer, then you can end up giving a reading and having it attended by, say, three people. And two of them will be your parents. And the other one will be a guy who just walked in to use the bathroom and got lost. So, it remains to be seen if I'll do any readings or signings (Note: I'll update this next Monday if something changes), but I'm incredibly excited to see the book reaching a wider audience and watching how people react to it. Which, thanks to the internet, is something I can do without even leaving my apartment.
Oh, and of course, I'm very much looking forward to the part where the book becomes a multi-million-dollar bestseller, and I become wildly famous, and they invite me to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen, and we become best friends. Which will probably happen next week.

Erika: I see on your twitter you describe yourself as a "Petter of Cats" Do you also own cats, and what are their names?

Kat: I have a very glamorous, very haughty tortoiseshell tabby named Vivien Leigh. I keep trying to explain to her that sitting on someone's hands while writing a book doesn't make you a co-author, but she's still very angry at me for not giving her a credit on the jacket. 

Erika: Are you currently working on any other books or stories for us to look forward to in the future?

Kat: I'm working on my second novel now, but you won't hear anything about it for awhile. But if you want to party with me on the internet, you can find me on Twitter, Tumblr, and at my freelance gigs. You can send me a question about dating etiquette and ogle some stills from "Magic Mike" while you wait.

Thanks for chatting with us Kat! Amelia Anne is Dead and gone was released on July 5th.

An arresting un-coming-of-age story, from a breathtaking talent

Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life.

Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.

 You can Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble as well as other booksellers.

_____________________________________________________________________

Mod Podge Blog Tours kicks off with Gabrielle Carolina's favorite debut of 2012, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield.

Amber over at Page Turners Blog designed the lovely banner and button below and several amazing blogs have graciously offered to host tour stops over the next three weeks!

Please find the schedule below, filled with poignant guest blogs, intriguing interviews and generous giveaways!


7/9- Kick-off & Giveaway at The Mod Podge Bookshelf
7/10- Interview at Rescue Reads 
7/12- Review at The Story Siren
7/13- Guest Blog at author Kelsey Sutton's Blog
7/15- Debut Author Spotlight Interview & Giveaway at Page Turners Blog
7/16- Guest Blog at 365 Days of Reading
7/17- Guest Blog at Magnet For Books
7/18- Interview at Steph Su Reads
7/19- Giveaway at YA Bliss
7/20- Interview & Giveaway at Reading or Breathing
7/21- Review at The Mod Podge Bookshelf
7/22- Giveaway at Midnight Garden
7/23- Guest Blog and Giveaway at Reading Away the Days
7/24- Giveaway at Books to Consider
7/25- Guest Blog at Words Like Silver
7/26- Review at Making the Grade
7/27- Interview at Book Chic
7/28- Guest Blog at The Mod Podge Bookshelf 

Thank you to all my bookish pals for helping kick off Mod Podge Blog Tours! 

For more info on future tours, as well as author info for being hosted on MPB, please check out the new Mod Podge Blog Tour Page on The Mod Podge Bookshelf.

***

And now for a giveaway! 

Win a finished copy of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Half-Blood

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: September 18th 2011
Pages: 281
Source: Bought Ebook
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Goodreads

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Half-blood is by far one of my favorite books of all time. Half-blood combines action, paranormal aspects, and a fiery forbidden love into an amazing story that I could not put down. Half-Blood is about a half-blood girl named Alex, who begins the book trying to kill daemons who have been trailing her since her mother had been killed by one daemon. After been away from the covenant for about three years Alex is taken back by the daemon hunters that rescued her, back to the covenant to face the world she left behind as she has only a summer to cover three years worth of what she missed- with a super super hot, untouchable Pure-blood daemon hunter of course.

Alex is absolutely one of the funniest, craziest, bravest, and absolutely the most awesome character I have ever read about. Alex begins the story with so much going on in her life that she has to deal with but somehow, though out the story she is able to remain strong and remain an absolutely amazing character with such a fun personality that I can't help but adore. Another major character in the story is the completely smoking hot Aidan, the daemon hunter who volunteers to help Alex catch up over the summer. I can't really say much with out ruining the book, but in so many ways how has some of the very same strength that Alex does and with that they are able to help each other figure out everything that is going on in their lives.

The story was overall written very, very well with a very interesting plot and characters I loved to pieces. The end was leaving me wanting more and I rushed to get the second book so I could eat it up as well!

Giveaway: Jersey Angel

Earlier this week I was sent a pretty awesome book in the mail with a copy to giveaway to you guys from Random Buzzers along with some pretty cool swag and a code for a free book when you join their site! I am giving away an ARC copy of Jersey Angel with what you see here. If you win you also get that nifty little business card there with a code on the back that will give you points at the Random Buzzer store that you can use towards a free book! How awesome is that?


To Enter

• Fill out the rafflecopter below
• You must live in the USA
• You must be 13 years or older

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Review: Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: April 3rd 2012
Pages: 549
Source: Library
Genre: Historical, Mythical Elements, Romance
Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Grave Mercy is a  very, very unique book about a girl who escapes a bad arranged marriage to live in a convent of the god of death where she learns to do his work and help the court of Brittany. This is a great historical book filled with action and romance that were very well written.

The main character, Ismae has grown up with a very difficult past with terrible parents and a horrible arranged marriage. Ismae is a very strong character despite all that has happened in her life and I really admired that in her. She was very good with other people and there really wasn't anything I didn't like about her. Duval is a character that Ismae has to travel with the the court of Brittany so she can help out in the court. I really didn't like Duval in the begging of the story, he acctually seemed like a bit of a jerk, but as the story continued on and on  secrets about Ismae and Duval are revealed to one another and the seem to warm up to each other. I really liked Duval by the end of the story. The writing in the story is written as people would have though and spoke in the time the book is taking place, but not in an overwhelming sense. The beginning was a little slower than I would have liked, but it picked up very quickly. The book is set up to be written as three companion novels, one for each of three girls who are part of the Convent of St. Mortain. I think that is a really cool way of putting together a world, and I can't wait to hear the stories of some of the other characters that were barely touched on in the story.

Grave Mercy is an amazing, interesting, action packed adventure book filled with amazing characters and a few I can't wait to learn more about.

Waiting on Wednesday 7/2/12 The Lost Girl

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna 
August 28th 2012

Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

Review: Demon Glass

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Sequel to Hex Hall
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Publication Date: March 22 2011
Pages: 368
Source: Library
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Goodreads

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

My review will have spoilers for the first book in the series.

 Demonglass is the fabulous sequel to Hex Hall as it continues Sophie's story as she finds out more about her self after finding out that she was indeed not a witch like she once though, but a quarter demon. Just as the last book does, Demonglass has a very fun, interesting and funny writing style that is lots of fun to read. It was a great book that continued to develope many of the characters from the last book as well as bringing back a few characters that were left with unfinished stories in the first book.

Just like in the first book I loved Sophie, she is  very funny and sarcastic. Sophie has a lot of struggles and challenges that are placed in front of her that she has to overcome. The only thing I really don't like about Sophie is that there really isn't anything else that I can use to describe her other than funny. She could be so much more to Sophie if she had some sort of hobby or other describing feature to her. There were a lot of surprising twists and turns in this book that I think were really well written because they were so unexpected. One of my favorite parts about this books is the return of Archer [insert dramatic sigh]. There wasn't much of Archer in Hex Hall, and I really love that he was brought back in the story. Sophie and Archer have this pretty generic Romeo and Juliet forbidden romance (Don't worry- no insta-love in this book!) thing going on- but for some reason I really like them together. Unlike Hex Hall, Demonglass takes place not at the school, but at the council's headquarters where Sophie is getting to know her dad. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the scene change of the book but I really came to love it and I think it was the perfect setting for this second book!

Demonglass was the perfect sequel to Hex Hall and I really can't imagine it being any better! I am eagerly waiting to get my hands on the third book to find out what all happens after such a cliffhanger ending! Highly recommended!