Book of the Week #8

Book of the Week is a weekly post about a particular book coming out sometime during the current week. 

This week's book is Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey. It looks so romantic! 

Released December 8, 2011.
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A thrilling debut story of death, love, destiny and danger

Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Book Rating: ★★★★★
Cover Rating: ★★★★★

Reading level: Ages 13 and up 
Hardcover: 432 pages 
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (September 20, 2011)

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses. The one who has never done anything remarkable, and can’t see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior, and he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

 I was drawn into this book immediately, mainly because of the characters and rapid-fire plot. Elisa is one of the most realistic characters I've ever read, especially in the way that she is not beautiful and her flaws are very apparent. Instead of that making me want to set the book down, it did just the opposite. You really see her grow as a character throughout the book, which is something I always have an eye for- I love to see people become stronger. And, I have to say, Rosario (Alejandro's son) is possible the coolest book-kid. Ever.
 The rest of the characters in this story are amazingly well-developed, too. You find yourself hating some, loving some, and dancing on the line, and through the whole book you find yourself trying to figure out carious characters. And when something bad happened to one of the major characters, I cried. In public. With big, fat tear streaming down my face and an occasional gasp. One lady asked me if I needed help. I responded frantically with something like, "NO GO HELP THEM. NOW." Alas, I failed. Anyway, what happened was so terrible that it was usually, in other books, something that was solved with an Abra Cadabra or some sort of time machine. In this book, it was raw, it was real, and there was no going back. Every twist of the plot broke your heart a little bit while making your pulse race faster. This book effectively put me on an emotional roller-coaster. And I loved every second of it. 
 Another great part of this book is the plot. The whole thing keeps you guessing and plotting with Elisa, feeling surprise and betrayal when she does. One of my favorite themes for books is those which involve royalty and high society. In this book, you watch as Elisa goes from frowned-upon princess to highly respected queen.
 I've heard some people say that they didn't like that  Elisa was so religious and they felt like they were being preached at. But I feel that the religious element of this book is an important piece of the story and it would have been a mistake to have left it out. Religion is a big part of who people are- so when you cut that out of a book, you miss part of the character. I wholly support authors who put religions into their books, even if they know it will be met with a picky public eye. 
  Overall, a book I think you should read even if it doesn't sound like your thing. It's totally worth the cash you pay for it, and you won't regret spending your time on it, either. I hope you'll give it a try.

Giveaway: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

In celebration of this book being released tomorrow, I will be giving away a copy! As implied, it is released tomrrow, and I will be ordering one lovely copy from Amazon. But, you see, one crazed book blogging girl only has so much money. So, this book that I order, I will be reading. And THEN I will be sending it to one lucky winner. But, don't worry, I'm a fast reader, and my books always stay in wonderful condition. And, I mean, it is still a FREE book. So just press the pretty buttons, smile, and eat a cookie. You deserve it.
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"You can't touch me," I whisper.
I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.
He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.
But things happen when people touch me.
Strange things.
Bad things. 

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.
But Juliette has plans of her own.
After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

Book of the Week # 7

 Book of the Week is a weekly post about a particular book coming out sometime during the current week. 

 This week's book is Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I'm hoping for some kick-butt battle scenes. 


Released November 15, 2011
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"You can't touch me," I whisper.
I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.
He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.
But things happen when people touch me.
Strange things.
Bad things.
No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.
But Juliette has plans of her own.
After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

Giveaway: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

 I am bored. And sleepy. You know what this means. Or maybe you don't. But I do.
 Yep, kids, that's right! It means I'm having a hot-chocolate induced giveaway! Since I have still not received that glorious email from Rafflecopter, I am going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. Sort of.
 "WE DON'T CARE. What is the pretty you are giving away?" You ask, irritatedly poking my cheek. 
 The pretty, my friends, is actually a book that came out a while back but is fantastic and it causes much ooohhing and aaahhhing amongst the people.
 So now I will stop annoying you.         
                                           FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater

#3 The Wolves of Mercy Falls

• Debuted at #1 on the UK Children’s Top 500 Books
• Debuted at #4 on the New York Times Bestseller Series List
• USA Today Bestseller

The conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy. In Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.
______________________________
  So, yep. It is not the first in the series, or recently released. But I want YOU to have it. Or maybe that guy standing behind you with the knife. *waits for you to be fooled by clever joke and turn around* Did I get you?


 Well, anyways, entering is REALLY easy. Just tweet this: I want to win FOREVER by @mstiefvater from @PenandInkChick! http://tinyurl.com/8a2ycr4

Ends November 30th! International! Exclamation points are fun! 

 Fingers crossed!

Review: The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Book Rating: ★★★★☆
Cover Rating: ★★★☆☆

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (October 18, 2011)

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

  This book definitely brought something new to my bookshelf. I never finished Shiver, but in comparison, the writing in this book is far more elegant and lyrical. The story takes place in Thisby, a claustrophobic and wild island where water horses, capaill uisce, come ashore very fall. They are not your average horse- they're faster, stronger, and prefer hearts to apples. I love the feel of this novel- the island, the horses, and the people became real to me. I can picture Puck and Sean racing on the cliffs, the ocean roaring below them. 
 You must understand that I absolutely love horses. I was raised with them. I think they are the ultimate symbol for freedom, and the most beautiful creature on the earth. I have been able to perfectly imitate a horses knicker since I was five, and they run to the fence when I do it. Freaky? Yes. Fun and also makes me feel like Ninja Jedi Master of Horses? Yes also. I'm not lucky enough to have a horse right now, but I hope that someday when I can actually legally obtain one I will have whole stable-full. After hearing that, I guess you can understand my reaction when, walking through my middle-of-nowhere town's wal-mart, I saw The Scorpio Races. And I publicly squeed. Very loudly. 
 Anyways, one of my first thoughts for the book was how much I loved the setting. Thisby seems so wild and free. I love the way Puck and Sean feel about the island, seem to have an attachment to it. Especially Puck, though, who's whole reason for entering the race is about staying on Thisby and in the house that she grew up in. But, then again, that part did leave me thinking that it was a bit improbable that someone would risk death for a house. I would have liked for Puck to have a stronger motivation for entering the races.
 I also liked the alternating POV between Puck and Sean. The story would have lost some of it's spice without it. The only problem I had was that the voices of the two are a bit too similar Sean was, however, my favorite character. I loved his cool attitude and his love for horses, and the way no matter how many times someone provoked him he never let them see he was upset. He was a perfect MC. Puck was also a good character, very real, but I felt like some of the things her character did didn't match up with her thoughts and attitude. Maybe it's just me being weird. 
  My one major problem was the climax. I found it... anti climatic. But, as I have said before, I like edge-of-your-seat, pins-and-needles, guts-and-glory kind of books. (Ex: The Hunger Games!) I feel like the whole novel was working up to this point, and it was dramatic and heart-wrenching, but it left me wanting more, and not in the good way. 
 Overall, you should totally read this book. I recommend reading by a fire of some sort, or at the beach. ALSO: check out the B-E-A-Utiful stop-motion Maggie Stiefvater did! I <3 it forever and ever!

Winner of Short Story & Halloween Giveaways!

WINNER OF SHORT STORY CONTEST: Before I announce the winner, let me just say that ALL the stories were fantastic. It seriously took me forever to decide the winner. I was expecting to have to take a while to read all of the entries, but it went quicker than I expected, so I have the winner! The winner of a signed ARC Frost by Marianna Baer is:
                                                 Rose Poole!
Again, than you so mush to everyone who put their time and talent into this. Never stop writing!

WINNER OF HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY:
                                              Jenna F.

Congrats to those two! I hope you enjoy the books! If you didn't win this time around, I love having giveaways, so just keep looking for one to pop up here!