Monday, January 28, 2013

Young Adult Giveaway Hop Jan.29th-Feb.4th


First thank you to I am a Reader, Not a Writer and BookLove101 for hosting this hop! 
Second unfortunately due to S & H charges this giveaway is only open to US/Canada. (Sorry!)

Now on to the prize!  I am giving away my ARC copy of The Crossing by Mandy Hager!  I LOVED this book and was so glad I got the opportunity to read it. 

 The Crossing
by: Mandy Hager

Summery from Goodreads:

The Crossing is the first book in a stunning new trilogy that follows the fate of Maryam and her unlikely companions - Joseph, Ruth and Lazarus. This is fast, suspenseful drama underpinned by a powerful and moving story about love and loss. The people of Onewere, a small island in the Pacific, know that they are special - chosen to survive the deadly event that consumed the Earth. Now, from the rotting cruise ship Star of the Sea, the elite control the population - manipulating old texts to set themselves up as living 'gods'. But what the people of Onewere don't know is this: the leaders will stop at nothing to meet their own blood-thirsty needs. When Maryam crosses from child to woman, she must leave everything she has ever known and make a crossing of another kind. But life inside the ship is not as she had dreamed, and she is faced with the unthinkable: obey the leaders and very likely die, or turn her back on every belief she once held dear

Just enter using the Rafflecopter below & then continue on to the next blog in the hop!




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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Manga/Graphic Novel/Video Game Novel Challenge 2013


So this year since I said that I would try to get to Level 3 of the Challenge That means I need to have at least 25 books read before the end of the year. That's at least 2 books a month. (and one extra one in at least one of those 12 months)   As a change from last year I'm gonna be putting the reviews up here as I get them done and then linking them in the monthly round-up at Mother/Gamer/Writer.  I also plan to try to remember my update my Challenge page at the end of the month. Want to see what the other people in the challenge are reading this month? Click here!


By: Drew Karpyshyn

Summery from Amazon:

Every advanced society in the galaxy relies on the technology of the Protheans, an ancient species that vanished fifty thousand years ago. After discovering a cache of Prothean technology on Mars in 2148, humanity is spreading to the stars; the newest interstellar species, struggling to carve out its place in the greater galactic community.

On the edge of colonized space, ship commander and Alliance war hero David Anderson investigates the remains of a top secret military research station; smoking ruins littered with bodies and unanswered questions. Who attacked this post and for what purpose? And where is Kahlee Sanders, the young scientist who mysteriously vanished from the base–hours before her colleagues were slaughtered?

Sanders is now the prime suspect, but finding her creates more problems for Anderson than it solves. Partnered with a rogue alien agent he can’t trust and pursued by an assassin he can’t escape, Anderson battles impossible odds on uncharted worlds to uncover a sinister conspiracy . . . one he won’t live to tell about. Or so the enemy thinks.


My Review:

As with other video game novels that I have read I have heard of Mass Effect but not actually played it.  I don’t know if that would make a difference to how I viewed Mass Effect Revelation.  I do know that I really enjoyed this one. 
I’m not always big on mysteries.  I’ve found in a lot that I’ve read lately there is always way too many red herrings or ‘what a twist’ endings.  A few in a book are fine….but when every page has one….yea it really starts to grate on ones nerves.  I can gladly say that this was not the case with Mass Effect.  It was straight forward.  There were twists and some false leads yes, but just the right amount. 
I really enjoyed discovering the Mass Effect universe as well.   As I said before I have heard of the game, but never played so it was all new to me.  I guess it also helped that the author is also the lead writer on the game itself, however I didn’t realize that ‘til the end of the book when I read it on the author bio.
I also liked the characters.  The main character Anderson was interesting and a great hero without being an ass.  I also really liked Kahlee, while she did need to be saved from a prehistoric looking assassin, she wasn’t weak or whiny. 
The story’s ending is perfectly set up to lead into another novel, not everything is neatly tied up in bows.  That being said the story didn’t just drop straight off a cliff and I think the ending, while a tease, was good for the book itself.   I would have preferred if there was some sort of promo somewhere in the book for the next one though.  Nothing major or anything, just a title to look for or something.  I mean they already had advertisements for the game in the back.  Just saying.  
I mainly would like to see what other books there are because as I said above I liked the characters and I would like to see what happens to them next.  I was also intrigued by the story line and the whole Mass Effect universe itself and would like to see where it is going. 
I definitely recommend this one.  While I can’t say if it mirrors the games or follows the same storyline etc. I can say that it is still a solid book on its own and definitely worth picking up.










Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop Jan.18th - Jan. 24th


First thank you to I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Martha's Bookshelf for once again hosting this awesome hop!
Second this giveaway is limited to US/Canada only! Sorry S & H and all!

This year I'm giving one lucky person my ARC of The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon.



By: Jennifer McMahon

Summery from Amazon:

The summer of 1985 changes Reggie’s life. An awkward thirteen-year-old, she finds herself mixed up with the school outcasts. That same summer, a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother, Vera, the most, Vera’s hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there’s no body and Neptune disappears.
Now, twenty-five years later, Reggie is a successful architect who has left her hometown and the horrific memories of that summer behind. But when she gets a call revealing that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again.

Click here to read my 5 Controller review at Mother/Gamer/Writer!







Just enter below using the rafflecopter and then continue on to the next blog in the hop!

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Monday, January 14, 2013

No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop Jan. 15th-Jan. 21st


First thanks to I am a Reader, Not a Writer for hosting this great hop!
Second this giveaway is for US/Canada only. (sorry S & H)

The prize is my hard cover copy of Dreaming of Dior by Charlotte Smith.  I love this book. The pictures are amazing.  I love the cover too.

by Charlotte Smith

Summery from Amazon:

Charlotte Smith had already had more than her fair share of fabulous dresses and adventures. She lived life to the fullest in London, Paris and New York before falling in love with Australia and making it her home.
Then she discovered that she had inherited a priceless vintage clothing collection from her American Quaker godmother, Doris Darnell.
When the boxes started arriving, they were filled with more than three thousand pieces dating from 1790 to 1995, from Dior and Chanel originals to a dainty pioneer dress.
But when she unearthed her godmother’s book of stories, the true value of what she had been given hit home. This wasn’t merely a collection of beautiful things; it was a collection of lives. Women’s lives. Tiny snapshots of our joys and disappointments, our entrances and exits, triumphant and tragic.
This is a book for any woman who knows a dress can hold a lifetime of memories.


Just enter using the Rafflecopter below and then hop right along to the next blog on the list!




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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop Jan. 4th-10th




 First I'd like to say thank you to I am a Reader, Not a Writer for hosting this hop! 
Second I'm sorry to say but the giveaway is U.S./Canada Only. Sorry S&H is just too high elswhere.
Now onto the prize!
I'll be giving to one lucky winner my arc copy of:


by Krys Lee

Summery from Amazon:

Set in Korea and the United States from the postwar era to contemporary times, Krys Lee's stunning fiction debut illuminates a people struggling to reconcile the turmoil of their collective past with the rewards and challenges of their present. Amid the famine in North Korea, the financial crisis of South Korea, and the cramped apartments and Koreatown strip malls of the United States, Krys Lee's vivid and luminous tales speak to the political and financial hardships of life in Korea and the uniquely unmoored immigrant experience.
            In the tradition of Chang-rae Lee's Native Speaker and Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies,Drifting House is an unforgettable work exploring love, identity, war, and the homes we make for ourselves, by a dazzling new writer.

Just enter using the easy Rafflecopter form below and then  hop on to the next blog on the list!






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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Manga/Graphic Novel/Video Game Novel Challenge 2013



So this year since I said that I would try to get to Level 3 of the Challenge I figured I'd better get moving and the sooner the better! I mean I need to have at least 25 books read before the end of the year. That's at least 2 books a month. (and one extra one in at least one of those 12 months)  So since I had some extra time today and decided to get started.  As a change from last year I'm gonna be putting the reviews up here as I get them done and then linking them in the monthly round-up at Mother/Gamer/Writer.  I also plan to try to remember my update my Challenge page at the end of the month. 
So on with the review!  I just finished a new graphic novel I got from NetGalley.  


By: Adrianne Ambrose


Summery from Amazon:

One kiss from Tinka's sparkling lips leads to some unexpected consequences for the callous boys of Portage High School. After a secret romance goes up in flames, she looks to a fortune teller for answers on finding true love, which leads to the summoning of some accidental - but hilarious - magic. But in the end, Tinka has to learn to take responsibility for her own decisions, with or without the aid of magic.


My Review:

I was on the fence with this one ‘til the end. 
Throughout most of the story I was torn.  I got that the writer was trying to make a point as to how crude some guys can be and how they completely don’t understand girls. But it started to get a bit ridiculous.  There was only one nice guy in the book and that was Ben, Anne Sophie’s boyfriend.  You only get to see him for a few panels and then he barely says two sentences.  Every single other male pictured in the story was a jerk in one way or another, even the adults.  I understand the boys; they have to be spotlighted so it makes it mean that much more when they finally get how they’ve been treating the girls.  I get Tinka’s dad, he’s a jerk.  I don’t get the principal.  When ‘Jasmine’ is being sexually harassed by one of the boys in the lunch line and flips out the principal just blows off what she tells him. In fact he only seems to get upset that she says the word ass.  Now this could just be chalked up to the spell having an effect on the adults as well as on the boys it changes, but still it got a little bit overboard.  
Even with all the anti-guy sentiment the book still wasn’t that bad. The story was cute in its own way and so was the artwork. I honestly would give the majority of the book 3 out of 5 stars if it wasn’t for the ending. Yeah, the ending killed it for me.  There’s a big dramatic scene where Jason is trying to prove to Tinka that he is sincere and he has her kiss him….the end.  The book just ends. You don’t get to find out what happens to the rest of the boys that were turned into girls. You don’t get to find out what happens to Tinka’s dad.  You don’t even get to see if Jason turns back into Jasmine or not. It just ends with them kissing.  That’s pretty much what killed the book entirely for me.  If the ending had been different maybe I would recommend picking it up.  But it doesn’t so I’m not.






Manga/Graphic Novel/ Video Game Novel Challenge 2013




I sooo enjoyed the 2012 Challenge I decided to participate in it again this year.  Last year I decided since it was the first time I'd every participated in a reading challenge to only aim at the first reading level.  Since I was able to make that one a lot easier than I thought I would I decided this year to make it harder on myself.
This year my goal is....:


Level 3 Warcraft - Hardcore Player
Read a total of 25-35 books



I know right? I think I'll be able to meet the goal, but it will definitely take more work than last year!


The rules are pretty much the same as last year's challenge and there are going to be prizes too! Click the link below to find out all the details and to sign up!   I'd love to know if anyone else decides to sign up so be sure to come back and let me know if you decide to.

Happy Reading!