Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox; Giveaway (INT)

Title: The Magic Warble
Author: Victoria Simcox
Published: January 1st, 2009
Length: 276 pages
Genre: Fantasy (Ages 9-13)
Summary:  Dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and an evil queen – all these and more can be found in The Magic Warble, an enchanting tale of adventure and friendship. 
Twelve-year-old Kristina Kingsly feels like the most unpopular girl in her school. The kids all tease her, and she never seems to fit in. But when Kristina receives an unusual Christmas gift, she suddenly finds herself magically transported to the land of Bernovem, home of dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and the evil Queen Sentiz. 
In Bernovem, Kristina not only fits in, she’s honored as “the chosen one” the only one who can release the land from Queen Sentiz’s control. But it’s not as simple as it seems. To save Bernovem, she must place the gift she was given, the famous “Magic Warble” in its final resting place. And she must travel through the deep forest, climb a treacherous mountain, and risk capture by the queen’s “zelbocks” before she reaches her destination. Guided by her new fairy friends, Clover and Looper and by Prince Werrien, a teenage boy, as well as an assortment of other characters, Kristina sets off on a perilous journey that not only tests her strength but her heart.






About the author

Victoria was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She now lives in Western Washington with her husband, Russ and their three children, Toby, Kristina, and William. Her other family members are a Chihuahua, named Pipsy and two cats, named Frodo and Fritz. Besides being an author, Victoria is a home-schooling mother of twelve years and an elementary school art teacher of eleven years. In her spare time, Victoria enjoys managing her two older children's Celtic band. She also loves writing, reading, painting watercolors, hiking, good movies, and just simply hanging out with her family and friends.







Giveaway

3 ebook copies of The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox
International, ends January 20th
To enter just fill the Rafflecopter form below and don't forget to leave your contact info.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Bad Boys Rehab Blog Hop (INT)


Who doesn't want a bad boy with potential to be rehabilitated? Well, sure I do! The Bad Boys Rehab Blog Hop features those guys. The ones that makes us want to kiss them and punch him at the same time, they infuriated us and frustrated us but we still love them. 
This giveaway is hosted by  I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Book Hookup and runs since January 10th until January 17th, so make sure to enter while you still have time. 


What's up for grabs?


This time I'll be giving a way to one lucky winner, 4 e-books from one of my favorites YA authors, Tammara Webber, who knows a thing or two about bad boys since she's the great mind behind Lucas and Reid Alexander. The books I'm talking about are:


Between the Lines (Between the Lines #1)



When Hollywood It Boy, Reid Alexander, arrives on location to shoot his next movie, his goals are the same as always—film another blockbuster hit and enjoy his celebrity status to the fullest while doing so. His costar is a virtual unknown with whom he had blazing hot chemistry during her auditions. The universe is lining up nicely to grant whatever he wants, as usual, until he’s confronted with unexpected obstacles on location like a bitter ex-girlfriend and a rival for the first girl to spark his genuine interest in years.
Emma Pierce just got her big break after more than a decade of filming commercials for grape juice, department stores and tampons, and more recently, bit parts in made-for-TV movies. Nailing the lead role in a wide-release film sent her agent, father and stepmother into raptures, and should have done the same for her. The Problem? Emma is experiencing a building desire to be normal, and starring in a silly, modernized adaptation of one of her favorite novels—opposite the very hot Reid Alexander—isn’t going to advance that aspiration.
Graham Douglas doesn’t fear playing the part of a nerdy dimwit; when it comes to choosing film roles, if it pays, he’ll do it. Besides, his friend Brooke Cameron snatched up the role of the bitchy hot girl and could use his help as a buffer, because her ex is the star. Graham has no problem keeping a handle on the situation, until he finds himself attracted to Reid’s costar, Emma, the girl Reid is pursuing full-throttle with his standard arsenal of charm, good looks and arrogance.



Where you Are (Between the Lines #2)


Graham Douglas doesn’t do romantic relationships, but he was knocked for a loop when he met Emma Pierce on the set of his last film. As they grew closer, he did everything in his power to keep from falling for a girl being pursued by superstar Reid Alexander. Now home in New York, his life is once again under control, until Emma appears and shows him how not over her he is.
Emma Pierce is forsaking an up-and-coming Hollywood career to embark on a life she’s only dreamed of—the life of a regular girl. After spending months burying her feelings for the two night-and-day guys who vied for her heart while filming her last movie, a twist of fate puts her in a coffee shop in the middle of Manhattan with the one she still misses.
Brooke Cameron was a fresh-faced Texas girl when she arrived in LA. Now she’s a beach sitcom star turned conceited heiress on the big screen. Having just survived three months on location with her ex—Hollywood’s reigning golden boy—she’s older and wiser and has set her sights on her close friend Graham. The only thing standing in her way is the girl he can’t forget.
Reid Alexander can sum up his life in one word: boring. Between film projects, there’s little going on outside of interviews, photo shoots, and the premiere of the film he finished last fall. The next-to-last thing he expects is to get a second chance with Emma, the girl who rejected him. The last thing he expects is for his still-bitter-ex to be the one to offer it to him on a platter.



Good for You (Between the Lines #3)



Reid Alexander's life is an open book. His Hollywood celebrity means that everything he does plays out in the public eye. Every relationship, every error in judgment is analyzed by strangers. His latest mistake totaled his car, destroyed a house and landed him in the hospital. Now his PR team is working overtime to salvage his image. One thing is clear—this is one predicament he won’t escape without paying for it.
Dori Cantrell is a genuine humanitarian—the outward opposite of everything Reid is about. When his DUI plea bargain lands him under her community service supervision, she proves unimpressed with his status and indifferent to his proximity, and he soon wants nothing more than to knock her off of her pedestal and prove she's human.
Counting the days until his month of service is over, Dori struggles to ignore his wicked magnetic pull while shocking him with her ability to see past his celebrity and challenging him to see his own wasted potential. But Dori has secrets of her own, safely locked away until one night turns her entire world upside down. Suddenly their only hope for connection and redemption hinges on one choice: whether or not to have faith in each other.


Easy


A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?
When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.
Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.
When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.




How can you enter?

This giveaway is International. 
You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
The winner will be notified by email as soon as the contest ends and will have 48 hrs to reply, otherwise a new winner will be chosen, so please don't forget to leave your contact information in the form.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Teaser Tuesday [5]



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.   Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1.- Grab your current read
2.- Open to a random page
3.- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4.- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5.- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



My teaser: 


"Then he kissed me. 
I knew I shouldn't have let him just toy with me and call the shots whenever he felt like it, but he was right there and I've never been very good at denying myself treats sitting in front of me. Believe me, he tasted way better than chocolate."

~ p. 78 "My Ex From Hell
" by Tellulah Darling.












What do you think about my teaser? 
What about yours? 
I would love to read it. 
Leave your answer in the comment section below.
If you're following me, tell me so in a comment, so I can follow you back :)

Top Ten Tuesday [4]



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

Top Ten Reading Goals for 2013

General goals:

#1 Read more books than last year.

In 2012 I read 75 books and I completed my Goodreads reading challenge. This year I am aiming to read 80 books at least. It is not much more, but I always get caught up on collage stuff through the year, so I'm being realistic and going for a goal I know I can achieve. 

2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge
Kar has read 8 books toward her goal of 80 books.
hide


#2 Write reviews as soon as I finish a book.

Jeez! I'm such a lazy person! I'm always leaving work for later... Sometimes I wait months before writing the review of a book I've read, and by that time I can barely remember all the details and the things I loved and dislike about the book. This year I want to speed up my review process, make time to write reviews and actually do it. 


#3 Pay more attention to my blog. Stop making excuses. 

Well, I think I have stated that I'm a lazy person who gets easily caught up on collage stuff. I really want to change that this year. I know there are weeks when I don't post a single thing here, because I'm too busy or too tired or whatever. I mean, I'm not even able to keep up with weekly memes! This year I want to post at least 4 times per week.



#4 Stop buying books and start reading them.

Hi, I'm Kar and I'm a shopaholic. Seriously, I just can't help it! It is not like I'm rich or anything but every time I can spare a few cents I buy a new book and I don't even consider that I already have like a gazillion books on my shelf and Kindle that I haven't read yet. This will be a year of reading books not just buy them.




#5 Finish the Paranormal Reading Challenge

This is the first challenge I'm participating in as a blogger and I really want to commit myself with it. I'm doing good at reading this first month, so far, I've already read 4 books with vampires which is this month theme. But, as always, I'm not doing well at reviewing because I haven't written a single review for any of those 4 books. I have to figure out a way to keep up with the reading and the reviewing part of the challenge. 





Specific goals:

#6 Read the following classic before 
the end of this year.

I'm not pretty good with classic because I always end up leaving them aside and telling me I'll read them later. This year I want to read at least five classics:
Othello by William Shakespeare, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlote Bronte, Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.






#7 Finish/catch up with the following series before the end of this year.

I've started a lot of book series but for some reason I'm not able to keep up with them. This year I want to finish or catch up with at least 10 series: House of Night by P.C. and Kristin Cast, My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater, Darkness Rising by Kelley Armstrong, The Immortals by Alyson Noel, Fallen by Lauren Kate, Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, Evernight by Claudia Gray and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.






#8 Review the following books before the end of my vacation.

I'm currently on my vacation and I don't have to go to collage until the second week of March. So I have to catch up with my reviews while I still have a lot of time for myself. I want this year's vacation to be productive, so I want to review at least 20 books I read this past few months: House of Night series (1-7) by P.C. and Kristin Cast, Riley Bloom (1 y 2) by Alyson Noel, Cross My Heart by Katie Klein, My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking, Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, Stay with Me by Paul Griffin, Hex Hall Series (1-3) by Rachel Hawkins, Good For You by Tammara Webber, The Chosen of Gaia by M. Mariz and Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire.





#9 Read the following books over 500 pages.

I've always felt a little intimidated by long books. But this year I want to break the pattern a little and finish at least 3 books over 900 pages: The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, It by Stephen King.






#10 Read the following books that have been on my TBR list for over year and a half.

My TBR list is insane and that is an understatement. This year I want to read at least 5 books that have been on that list since 2011: Across the Universe by Beth Revis, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr and Wither by Lauren DeStefano.







What do you think of my goals for this year?
What about yours? I'd love to know!
Leave a comment below. 
If follow me, tell me on your comment so I can follow you back :)

Saturday, January 5, 2013

[Review] Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Title: Slammed
Author: Colleen Hoover
Series: Slammed (Book #1)
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: September 18th 2012 (first published January 4th 2012)
Source: I receive an e-copy on a read-to-review basis from NetGalley
Blurb from Goodreads: Falling in love can feel like poetry. Or it can feel like a slam to the heart.
Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them.
Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.
Not long after a heart-stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together and the forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret.


Review



Thoughts in general: This is the first book of the Slammed series, which continues with Point of Retreat. It's a young adult love story so beautiful and complicated, full of lessons and messages about what's really important on life. I loved this book. I almost failed an exam because I couldn't put it down to study instead, but I don't really mind, because this story was worth it. I was caught in it since the very first page. This is a book with a great pace and well-built characters and overall it is a really captivating story so full with emotion, the bright and the dark side altogether. Death is the theme that drives the whole story, and it shows us how the loss of a parent can change our lives. 

Plot: Layken has just lost his father and she and her family have to move to Michigan from Texas, because her mother doesn't make enough money in her current job to support the whole family by herself. Luckily a friend has offered her a better position in this new town. Layken isn't happy with the moving but on her first day at their new house, she meets her new neighbor, Will, who is super hot and intellectual, and she feels attracted to him instantly. They go on a very special first date, which I really loved, because it was different and really romantic. 
Will and Lake love story is just beginning and they have a lot of things in common, you would say this relationship is meant to be... But then there's a huge obstacle on their way and they will have to learn to love each other as friends, because they just can't afford anything else. The reason behind all this is no one's fault but you can't help but thinking of solutions that either of them could have put in practice to end this mess, and you suddenly feel like screaming at them for not fighting harder because it's so clear that they're meant to be together. 
On top of that, Layken's mom has been acting really weird and Lake hopes with all her heart for her suspicions to be unfounded. 
The story deals with strong topics, such as the loss of a parent, the loneliness and the struggle of a forbidden love. But when everything else fails to express the real feelings of the young couple, there are always music and poetry to fill the holes of the unspoken words.

Characters: 
Layken, is a eighteen-year-old girl, who has been the rock for his family since her father died. She tries to put a good face and hide the pain that she's feeling because she knows she has to keep it all together or everything will fall apart. She's a strong girl but fate seems to be screwing with her all the time and there's just so much that a person can take in and she's certainly filling her fee.
Will, is a young men who has been forced to grow up very fast and to take care of his little brother after their parents died in an accident. He's attractive and really smart -most of the time- and even when the circumstances had made him tough, he still has a soft side and he's obviously in a lot of pain.
Julia is Layken's mom. She's a wise woman who would do anything for her kids. I loved this character because she's like the mom everyone would love to have -not that I don't like my own mom. She always have some great piece of advise to give and even when she's suffering she manages to take care of her kids the best she can.
Eddie, is an out-going girl, funny and caring, who becomes Layken's best friend. I loved this character because she brings some light to all the darkness that's surrounding Layken's life.
Kel and Caulder are Lake's and Will's little brothers, respectively. They adds a lot of innocence at the story and they are so much fun to read about


Writing: This story is narrated in first person, from Layken's point of view. The writting is amazing, it is so captivating and fast-paced that you can't put the book down. Layken is so relatable, that you can feel her pain and her joy through her words and I felt connected to her from the first line. 
The characters are really well built, and everything seems to has its place in this book, even music and poetry, and there is a lot of that! I love who poetry plays a main role in the story, because it becomes the way the character can express what they really feel. And music, well... the author is a huge fan of the Avett Brothers and every chapter stars with a piece of lyrics of their songs, and they are like the soundtrack of the story.

I would recommend it for: YA readers, lovers of love stories. Overall, everyone.

Rating:



Quotes:

“There are three questions every woman should be able to answer yes to before they commit to a man. If you answer no to any of the three questions, run like hell."
[...]
"Does he treat you with respect at all times? That's the first question. The second question is, if he is the exact same person twenty years from now that he is today, would you still want to marry him? And finally, does he inspire to be a better person? You find someone you can answer yes to all three, then you've found a good man.” 

“Don't take life too seriously. Punch it in the face when it needs a good hit. Laugh at it.” 

“So you keep your ocean, I'll take the Lake.” 

About the author (from her Goodreads page):


Oh, man. Profiles suck! But,here we go. I'm addicted to and seriously floored by the talent of The Avett Brothers band, which is obvious in both of my books. They are 99% of my playlist. The other 1% being Eminem and Jason Mraz. 
I love lindor truffles (the white ones with the chips inside) and have an unhealthy addiction to diet pepsi. A serious addiction.
I get stoked whenever I get a message from goodreads saying I have a new friend request...so request me, dangit! 
If you want to know when I have new books out or just want to be inundated by daily, pointless blog posts, follow me at www.colleenhoover.com 
Avoid my Twitter at all cost. It's propaganda.