September 30, 2013

Monthly Review: September

Welcome to Turning Pages!

It's always been a goal for me to post a "TBR" list at the beginning of every month, and a "Monthly Review" at the end of the month. Why? To set some goals, to have something to work towards, instead of just aimlessly blogging or picking up a book I know I shouldn't be reading because I have to read a different book first. Also it allows me and you to see what I posted the entire month, and if you want to check out a specific post, feel free to click the link!

Book Reviews:

Project CainThe Ghoul Next Door (Monster High, #2)Insurgent (Divergent Series #2)Legend (Legend, #1)


The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1)Shadows (The Rephaim, #1)


It's Monday, What Am I Reading:

Shadows (The Rephaim, #1)Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, #1)Zombie Blondes


Wednesday Memes:

The Chaos of StarsThis Song Will Save Your LifeA Radiant SkyHow to Love


What's Coming This Week:


Book Hauls:


The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #2)Some Quiet Place (Some Quiet Place, #1)Fangirl



Blogger of the Week:

Joana In The Sky With Books


Other:



It's Monday, What Am I Reading?

Welcome to Turning Pages!

Zombie BlondesTitle: Zombie Blondes.
Author: Brian James.
Summary:

"From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.
     A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders—the most popular girls in school.
     The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.
     But Hannah wants desperately to fit in—regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: if she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead—just like all the other zombies in this town. . . ."

My Thoughts So Far:

September is almost over, and I wanted to fit one more book in from this month's TBR, before October came around the corner. I purchased Zombie Blondes on a whim, without ever having heard about it, or having read the synopsis.

I just started reading yesterday, and haven't gotten very far. But already I love the main character, Hannah. And I can't wait to see who these popular girls are, if her dad will stop forcing her to move every four or five months, and how the story will end!

If you've read this book, feel free to comment down below with your thoughts, I would love to know! Also if you have a review posted on your blog of Zombie Blondes, leave the link as well, I'll make sure to stop by and check it out!


Unbreakable Pre-Order Contest!

Unbreakable (Legion, #1)
"I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels."

Hostile Questions: Kami GarciaAbout the Author:

Kami Garcia is the #1 New York Times & international bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures Series and the author of UNBREAKABLE, the first book in the Legion Series, releasing October 1, 2013.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES has been published in 50 countries and translated in 39 languages. The film adaptation of Beautiful Creatures released on February 14, 2013, from Warner Borthers, starring: Viola Davis, Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson, Emmy Rossum, Alice Englert, and Alden Ehrenreich.

Kami has always been fascinated by the paranormal and believes she's very superstitious. When she is not writing, Kami can usually be found watching disaster movies, listening to Soundgarden, or drinking Diet Coke. Kami lives in Maryland with her family, and their dogs Spike and OZ (named after characters from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Pre-Order Links:


Giveaway:

Book Blast: Eternal Starling by Angela Corbett



"A love so strong, even eternity can’t separate them. Evie Starling has lived a relatively uneventful life hanging out with friends, gossiping about boys, and driving her 1966 Mustang.

All of that changes when she moves to Gunnison, Colorado, to start college and meets two mysterious men. For centuries, Alex Night and Emil Stone have yearned for Evie but they each have their own reasons for wanting to be with her. When both men claim to be her soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that she s not the person she thought she was. Soon, Evie finds herself in the middle of an age-old battle between the Amaranthine Society the soul protectors, and the Daevos Resistance the soul destroyers. With a past she doesn t understand, and a future rife with danger, Evie has to decide who she can trust. But Alex and Emil aren t the only ones who want Evie, and her soul is about to become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war."



Giveaway:




a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

As a child, Angela Corbett’s most prized possession was a set of read-along books. She used to follow along with the narrator on the stereo and dream of when she would be able to read by herself. Her childhood reading habit led her to consider her future career. However, after consulting with her parents, she realized she had already exceeded hobbit height and since fairies and dragonslayers were tricky jobs to get, she decided she wanted to create worlds of her own. She started writing poetry in elementary school and worked as a journalist in high school and college, but could never leave her love for writing fiction behind.
She is a graduate of Westminster College where she double majored in communication and sociology. She has worked as a journalist, freelance writer, and director of communications and marketing. She loves classic cars, traveling, and escaping in a good book. She lives in Utah with her incredibly supportive husband and their five-pound Pomeranian, Pippin, whose following of fangirls could rival Justin Bieber’s.
Eternal Starling is her debut novel and the first book in the Emblem of Eternity trilogy.

September 29, 2013

Book Review: Shadows.

Shadows (The Rephaim, #1)Title: Shadows.
Author: Paula Weston.
Series: Yes, #1.
Pages: 400.
Source: Author.
Publisher: Tundra Books.
Published Date: 9/10/13
Links:
Goodreads
Barnes and Nobles

Summary:

"It's almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die. In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams, he tells her things about her brother and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby? The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares."

Cover:

If you've read a few of my reviews, you know how important covers are to me. Covers of books are first impressions, yes, we aren't supposed to judge books by their covers, but really, who doesn't? Covers are what pulls people, and makes them pick up the book to see what its about.

When looking at this cover, right away you know it's about angels! Awesome! (For once, not just a person, or face.)

My Thoughts:

The first time I heard about Shadows, was when a fellow reviewer over at Burn Bright suggested it for our monthly book club reviews; since then I haven't stopped hearing about it! Shadows has gotten amazing reviews, and numerous five star ratings from book bloggers I trust! With more than one person bullying me (JK) into reading this book, I knew it was time I picked it up, also my review is due!

For the month of September, Shadows was on the top of my TBR list, and the first book I picked up!

After reading Starcrossed I've been craving angel books, and this is exactly what Shadows is all about, This story follows a girl named Gaby, who has recently lost her twin brother in a car accident and is still dealing with it today. It seems that no matter how much therapy she goes to, or time passes, she isn't able to fully grieve her bother's death.

Gaby was tired of living her life, and decided to pack up and leave. She got on a bus one day, where she meet her now best friend, Maggie. Living together in Pan Beach, Gabe is in the hopes that she will be able to get through the loss of her brother and be able to continue on with her life.

But all that is shattered when Gabe meets Rafa at a bar one night, and changes everything. Gabe isn't who she thinks she is, her brother Jude didn't die the way she thought he did, and she is thrown into the world of Rephaim.

After finally reading Shadows, I can tell you first hand, that everything, everyone is raving about in their reviews is correct! The story is so different from the average YA angel book. The characters are mature, have substance as well as grow and change throughout the book. The romance between Gabe and Rafa is hateful at first, but sexy and sweet later on.

Maggie is the best friend anyone can ask for! It doesn't seem to matter what Gabe, or the world throws at them, Maggie always seems to understand and be there for her.

Overall I fell in love with this book. I've had cravings for angels, and Shadows satisfied me to the fullest!I know I usually say a little bit about the ending of the book, but with Shadows I don't think I can do that without giving anything away. All I can say is something crazy happens, and almost every single chapter ends with a cliffhanger. Putting down Shadows, to go eat, or shower, was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

If you get the chance to pick up and read Shadows, DO IT! I know you're all tired of the whole "angel" thing, but I promise you, this one is different!


Blogger of the Week: Joana In The Sky With Books

Joana In The Sky With Books
Your Name/Blog's Name: Hi! My name is Joana and my blog is called Joana In The Sky With Books (yes, it is very, very loosely based on a Beatles song haha)
Genre: I usually review YA books of pretty much any kind. Sometimes I might review one or two NA books (even though I haven’t done that…yet)
Blog Established: My blog is very recent! I created on May 24th, 2013 and my first post was on May 26th (I am terrible with HTML so it took me two extremely stressful days to get everything to work properly! Hahaha)
Inspiration: I have to admit that I didn’t really know about the existence of book blogs until a few weeks before I created my own blog (well, I was aware that people blogged about books, I just never imagined there would be such a great, big community behind it). The moment I saw how many book blogs there were and how amazing the community was, I just felt the need to start sharing my opinions and hopefully meet new people with the same interests as me 
Coffee or Tea: Neither, actually! Both of them make me a bit sick (it has been like that my whole life and I have no idea why…which is a shame because I could use some coffee in class). I would say that my favourite drink is water (and I also like chocolate milk quite a lot!).

Photo1. Where is your favorite place to read?

Definitely in bed! It’s so comfy! And the other day I read on the train…it was quite pleasant too!

2. How often do you go out, planning on not purchasing any books, but end up buying some anyways?

It doesn’t happen a lot…I spend hours at book stores and every time I find a book I want I just need to check the price tag and immediately I put it down thinking “You’re cheaper on The Book Depository” haha.

3. Name one book you didn’t think you would enjoy, but ended up loving it.

My Best Friend’s Girl by Dorothy Koomson. I wasn’t much into contemporary fiction at the time so it was a nice surprise!

4. Which do you prefer paperback, hardback, or ebook? Why?

I LOVE paperbacks! They aren’t too heavy and difficult to handle like hardbacks. I read quite a lot of ebooks (since they are cheaper) but it’s never the same thing…

5. One morning you wake up with super powers what would they be?

It might sound awful, but I am pretty sure it would be to be able to listen to people’s thoughts…I’m really curious about what goes inside everyone’s mind. I guess I could help the police catch the bad guys, right?

6. If you won ten million dollars, what would you do with it?

I have thought about this quite a lot! First of all, I would help my parents pay off any debts they had. Then I would save some money for the rest of my university years and also save some so I could go study abroad for a year or two! Then I would buy lots of books and travel the entire world (and maybe invest some of the Money? I’m not sure about it yet!)

Joana's Links:


Thank you so much for stopping by Joana and answering a few questions!

Book Haul!

Welcome to Turning Pages!

And thanks for stopping by! This week I picked up two book from Costco, which I can't wait to start reading! I've heard amazing things about both titles.

Eleanor & ParkEleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell.

"Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under."

FangirlFangirl, by Rainbow Rowell.

"Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?"


September 28, 2013

What's Coming This Week?

Welcome to Turning Pages!

"What's Coming This Week?" is a meme hosted here at Turning Pages, showcasing all of the new YA books coming out within the next seven days. Interested in any of the books mentioned below? Click on the books title, it'll take you to that book's Goodreads page, where you'll be able to read more about it!

Paperback:

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick: Book CoverRebel Heart by Moira Young: Book CoverMonstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama: Book Cover


Hardback:

The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima: Book CoverWild Cards by Simone Elkeles: Book CoverEndless by Jessica Shirvington: Book CoverHow to Love by Katie Cotugno: Book Cover



September 26, 2013

Cover Reveal: Mine to Tarnish

Mine to Tarnish (Mine .5)
Release Date: 12/02/13

Summary from Goodreads:
"Katherine’s place is the same as any woman’s—on the shelf next to the dresses and bolts of cloth. When she’s sold to a warlock, life grows even bleaker. Her new owner is as old and rancid as he is cruel, driving her to do the unthinkable: run.

Nothing prepared her for being on her own. And she’s definitely unprepared for the warlocks hunting her down. But she must stay one step ahead because if caught, the best she can hope for is death."


Book One:
(linked to Goodreads)

About the Author:

Janeal Falor lives in Utah where she’s finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years without moving. In her spare time she reads books like they’re nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she’s still going on about the voices in her head.

Author Links:

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****GIVEAWAY***
10 e-ARC copies of Mine To Tarnish (INT)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal Organized by: