600 Follower Giveaway!

I am so grateful and pleased to be have 600 follower giveaway!  Thanks to everyone for their outstanding support.  I love giving away books!!!

This giveaway will have six winners and each winner will get to pick out two books!  The fist place winner picks first, the second chooses from the remaining books, etc...

Here are your choices:

Purity by Jackson Pearce - Finished Copy (YA)
The Girl In The Steel Corset by Kady Cross - Finished Copy (YA)
Wentworth Hall by Abbey Grahame - Finished Copy (YA)
Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown - ARC (YA)
Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock - ARC (YA)
Switched by Amanda Hocking - Finished Copy (YA)
Torn by Amanda Hocking -  Finished Copy (YA) *this is the sequel to Switched*
Wither by Lauren DeStefano - Finished Copy (YA)
Shattered Dreams by Ellie James - Finished Copy (YA) *signed*
The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain - Finished Copy (Adult Fiction)
Heft by Liz Moore - Finished Copy (Adult Fiction)
The Language Of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - Finished Copy (Adult Fiction)


You must be 13+ to enter and each winner has 48 hours to respond to a winning notification. This giveaway is open internationally.  Good luck and thanks again!

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Weekly Remainders (4)

Happy Sunday!  I hope you've had a good week! 

I only got one book this week -

From NetGalley and Random House:

My reviews this week:

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon
Revived by Cat Patrick
Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland
Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

What I'm reading next week:
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
Little Night by Luanne Rice


Contests:
600 Follower giveaway goes live tomorrow! There will be six winners and it's international!

Lastly, the wonderful ladies over at Girls In The Stacks have been having discussions about Fracture by Megan Miranda. (If you're not following their blog, you should be - it's awesome!!)  It's an excellent book and a few bloggers, like myself, answered questions.  Here is my question and answer:

The reader only gets glimpses of the underlying issue behind Delaney’s mother’s troubles and it’s obvious that her past is affecting how she now treats Delaney after her accident.  If Miranda had given this issue more page time, would elaboration on the relationship between Delaney and her mom, and the mother and her parents have helped or hindered the story?

Kate:  I think that as adults reading YA, it is natural to desire more interaction between parent and child and to know more about the parents because we (adult readers) are reading this from our adult perspective.  While I might desire to know more about a character’s background, there is a point at which you must take a story at face value.  This is not her mom’s story, it’s Delaney’s.  We know that her mom was in an abusive home and she got out.  We know that Delaney’s relationship with her mom is a little strained and after her accident becomes even more so.  While I might be interested in knowing more about this because I am interested in these types of things, in general, it doesn’t really mean that the story suffered because of it.  What I took away from that information was that Delaney’s mother struggled in her life just as Delaney is struggling after her accident.  We are all of us a little bit broken by the things that we have overcome in our lives and we all have secrets.  I found it very realistic that neither party (Delaney or her mom) really revealed the reason behind their brokenness.  People carry things within them without telling anyone all the time. Would it have made the book better to know more?  I’m not so sure, really. Would we have known more about Delaney by knowing more about her mom?  I’m not convinced of that.  Would the book suffer from more elaboration?  I don’t think it would have suffered, per say, but it might have changed the focus of the book, and I have to say that I enjoyed it immensely just as it was written.

Please check out the rest of the questions and answers here.  It's an excellent book and interesting discussion!

Have a great week!

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

This is a review of the second book in the Starcrossed series.

Dreamless

Author: Josephine Angellini

Genre: Young Adult

Format: ARC

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: 5-29-12
As the only Scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on. Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out—a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies’ cry for blood is growing louder. As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen’s sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos. - Goodreads

The weight of everyone's lives rests on Helen's shoulders and a great deal of this book was Helen descending into the underworld and searching desperately for a way to free her friends from the curse that has broken Scion families apart for thousands of years.  The mother she just met is off fighting, as well, and in many ways this story is filled with a lot of side battles which makes for an exciting, if not somewhat exhausting, book.  Helen's trips to the underworld are truly nightmarish, if you'll excuse the pun, until she discovers that she might not have to do this alone.  Orion not only brings some additional love possibilities, but he also brings another perspective to the challenges that all Scions face.  Of course, Helen and Lucas continue to struggle with their feelings while trying to figure out a way to navigate both old and new dangers.

This book was obviously well researched and perhaps the one warning I might give is that it's a good idea to re-read the first book, Starcrossed, before reading this one.  It really doesn't have the little reminders that writers often insert into the story to casually bring people up to speed.  It is a fairly intricate plot, so having everything fresh on your mind helps.  I was once again impressed by the way the characters and story developed and how involved I was in everyone's well being.  Being a Scion means that there is danger everywhere and I really felt that sense of impending doom as I was reading.  There are new and dangerous characters that are introduced into the story and it all comes together to create a very entertaining page-turner.  Dreamless is a detailed, emotional and exciting second book filled with romantic tension and lots of action. 

This book earned 4 birds:


Find Josephine Angelini online:
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The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland

The Summer My Life Began

Author: Shannon Greenland

Genre: Young Adult

Format: ebook

Publisher: Speak/Penguin

Release Date: 5-10-12

Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time. - Goodreads

Elizabeth Margaret is a girl who seems to live for pleasing others; she wants to please he dad by becoming a lawyer and she wants to keep her mom happy by being the perfect daughter.  Her aunt's invitation is the perfect opening for a young woman who need a little help figuring out what she really wants in life.  There is some family mystery and a big secret in this story, which I thought was a great way to keep the book moving.  Em's journey to find out about the aunt she never knew and her friendship with the people n this small town created a wonderful atmosphere as the mysteries slowly unfold.  The island setting really made me want to escape on vacation and provided the perfect backdrop for a summer book.

I liked Em and wanted her to find herself, so to speak, but I also really loved Cade.  Whatever Em's struggles are in life, she has always had enough of everything, whereas Cade gave her a little glimpse into a life that was not as privileged.  I think that the interaction between the two gave some perspective to Em's character and their relationship allowed Em to really consider the possibility that she could take control of her life.  This book was the right mix of heavy emotions, fun and romance and I think it would make a great beach read for those that are fans of contemporary YA.

This book earned 4 birds:


I received this book as a galley from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Find Shannon Greenland online:
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Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Lies Beneath

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown

Genre: Young Adult

Format: ebook

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: 6-12-12

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him. - Goodreads

A cold lake, revenge and a family secret all set the scene for this gripping story about a family of mermaids bent on revenge.  Calder and his sisters are unbelievably good looking and survive by preying on the life force of those who make the mistake of crossing their paths in lakes and oceans.  When the family that they hold responsible for their mother's death moves to a house on Lake Superior, they take their chance.  Calder must try to trick Lily into falling in love with him as he hides who he really is - the person who wants to kill her father.  The scenes jump back and forth between Calder's life in the water with his sisters and his life on land, trying to appear normal enough to catch Lily's eye.  These mermaids are not the stuff of Disney movies.  They are evil and clever and very dangerous.

What I loved about this story most of all was how uncomfortable it was to like Calder because he is not an entirely likable character.  Let's face it, he's a murderous merman, which is not #1 on anyone's Top Ten Desirable Attributes in a Boyfriend.  I was glad to see Lily's initial distrust of him because it made me like her that much more.  What you come to realize is that there is a big part of Calder that is tired and just wants to be normal. His conflicted feelings and Lily's caution made for a very different and more satisfying relationship and, as a reader, I think it was much more interesting than "Oh, it's a merman and I love him immediately."  As the story unfolds, their relationship develops into something very different and extremely compelling and entertaining.  Calder's inner war between his humanity and merman nature make it more than just a story of star-crossed lovers.  "Lies Beneath" seems to refer not only to the water, but to the motivations and conflicts that reside in all of us and what people are willing to sacrifice in order to do the right thing.  I have read several mermaid books this year, but I am 100% in love with this one.  It's dark shadows and unconventional story makes it a book worth reading.

This book earned 5 birds:


I received this book as a galley from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Find Anne Greenwood Brown online:
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Revived by Cat Patrick

Revived

Author: Cat Patrick

Genre: Young Adult

Format: ARC

Publisher: Little, Brown

Release Date: 5-8-12

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life. A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined. - Goodreads

Daisy's life is a lot like that of a military kid; town after town, house after house and never putting down roots for long.  What's different about Daisy, though, is her penchant for dying and the availability of a secret experimental drug that an bring her back to life.  The story opens as Daisy and her "parents" are making yet another move and you really get the sense that this life is starting to wear on Daisy, who would love to be a normal teen with normal activities.  You slowly get to know Daisy and her background and I got really attached to her as a character.  Although she wanted for nothing, there is something so sad about never being able to stay in one place and always having to keep a big part of who you are a secret from almost everyone you know.

This book did a good job of subtly showing the reader how Daisy goes from a teen that doesn't really value life to someone who realizes how precious it is.  Revive gave Daisy a "get out of death free" card, but it skewed her perspective on many things. It is her relationship with Matt and her friendship with his sister that brings everything back into focus.  This is more than just a coming of age story, however.  There are some very tense and exciting moments in Revive and the intrigue behind the drug's developers and the conspiracies that hold its secret in place made the book very exciting to read.  It was an excellent combination of everything you love in an action/adventure story combined with the elements of an emotional contemporary. 

This book earned 4 birds:


Find Cat Patrick online:
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I read this book as a part of the Southern Book Bloggers ARC Tour.

Cover Reveal: Audition And Subtraction by Amy Fellner Dominy

I am very pleased to participate in the cover reveal for Audition And Subtraction by Amy Fellner Dominy!

Here's a little bit about the book:

For as long as Tatum can remember it’s been:

Tatum + Lori = Best friends

They do everything together, including a yearly clarinet/flute duet for District Honor Band auditions. But when a new boy transfers to their middle school and their band, the equation suddenly changes to:

Lori + Michael – Tatum = One happy couple

With her best friend slipping away and her parents recently separated, Tatum’s life has turned upside down. Plus her good friend Aaron thinks that they are secretly boyfriend and girlfriend, all because of one little lie Tatum told. Accepting change isn’t easy for Tatum, but just how much is she willing to give up to hold on to her friendship with Lori and life as she knows it? For Tatum, the best way to move forward may require a whole new formula . . .

Here's an excerpt:

Mr. Wayne pointed to where we stood. “Tatum also plays clarinet, and Lori is our principal flute.” We both sort of nodded, and Michael smiled, his sunglasses reflecting back my face for a second before moving to Lori. His smile widened, and she shuffled from one foot to the other. I was still half behind her, and I tapped her with my shoulder.

Loser, right? my shoulder nudge said.

She didn’t nudge back.

Add it on goodreads!

You know that any book about band is going to have a special place in my band geek heart and this looks fantastic!  If you can't wait to read this book, you can also check out Amy's adorable and thoughtful debut, OyMG.

Amy is having a giveaway and you can enter right here!  Good luck