Review- The Lying Game

Title: The Lying Game
Author: Sara Shepard
Series: The Lying Game #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there's nothing left to live for.  No more kisses.  No more secrets.  No more gossip.  It's enough to kill a girl all over again.  But I'm about to get something no one else does--an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma's desperate to know what happened to me.  And the only way to figure it out is to be me--slip into my old life and piece it all together.  But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends?  Convince my boyfriend she's the girl he fell in love with?  Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night?  And can she keep up with charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her ever move?

My thoughts: 

I absolutely loved the Lying Game! It was full of mystery, secrets, nasty teen-girl gossip, high school pranks and murder! I felt like I was right in the middle of a Mean Girls episode!

I love the characters Emma Baker and Sutton Mercer! They're twins, who have never met yet have, surprisingly, a lot of similarities despite growing up separately.  Emma is able to put herself into Sutton's life without many people noticing the difference.  I was on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering if someone was going to finally figure it out or if Emma's real life was going to catch up with her.

I also loved the concept of the lying game.  The group has to continually out-do each other and make the next prank bigger and better than the last.  But where does it end?  They literally put their reputations and their lives on the line when they play the lying game.  And they've done it for so long and have gotten so extreme that even the law enforcement won't bat an eye in their directions because they've cried wolf too many time.

The Lying Game was absolutely incredible! I love the book and I love the show even though they're completely different.  It completely rocked my world and I can't wait to see what happens to Emma in the next one!

Waiting on Wednesday (31)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: Dragonswood
Author: Janey Lee Carey
Hitting the Shelves: January 5, 2012

Wilde Island is in an uproar after the recent death of its king.  The uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is fraying, and a bloodthirsty witch hunter with a hidden agenda whips villages into frenzies with wild accusations.  Tess, a blacksmith's daughter from a tiny hamlet near the mysterious Dragonswood, finds herself caught in the cross-hairs of fate when she is accused of witchery and has to flee for her life along with her two best friends.

Not even Tess's power to see the future can help the girls as they set off on their desperate journey, but she keeps having visions of a man wielding a sword.  And when she finally meets him, Tess has no idea how to handle the magnetic attraction she feels for him, or the elusive call she hears from the heart of Dragonswood.  

Giveaway! Dreamland by Alyson Noel Audio Book

This past week I received Dreamland by Alyson Noel in audio book format from MacMillian audio.  I have not read the Immortals series by the same author where the Riley character originated or the first couple books in the Riley series, but I know some of you out there have! Which is why one lucky person will win this advanced copy before it hits the shelves September 13!

Riley's finding that the afterlife can be a lonely place when all you do is focus on work.  So she goes to the place where dreams happen, hoping to find a way to contact her sister, Ever.  She meets the director, who tells her about the two ways to send dreams.  As a Dream Jumper, a person can jump into a dreamer's dream,  share a message, and participate.  As a Dreamweaver, an entire dream can be created in a studio and sent to the dreamer.  But Dreamweaving was outlawed decades ago, and the studio was boarded up.  Thinking it's her only way to reach out to her sister, Riley goes in search of the old studio.  There she finds a ghost boy, who's been creating and sending nightmares to people for years.  In order to stop him and reach out to Ever, Riley is going to confront and overcome her own fears.  

Rules: 

• 13 years or older
• US only
• Leave a comment with your email address 
• Ends Thursday September 8!

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox is an awesome way to connect with our blogger and reader friends and share which amazing books we received, bought or borrowed during the week! This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Sadly, all Border's stores are in the final weeks and everything is at least 60% off! But that's good for us right?  I found some really great books and I'm super excited to share them with you!

I feel like I've been a little inspired by Ashley @ The Bookish Brunette because she gives such amazing reviews of the zombie books that she reads and it makes me want to read them too.  I've read the Forest of Hands and Teeth but I felt like I needed to branch out a little bit so when I saw these zombies books, I thought of Ashley, how excited she was after she read them and just had to get them!

For Review: 

Even though I received Dreamland by Alyson Noel in audio book for review, I haven't read the Riley series nor have I read the Immortals series.  So I will be doing a giveaway for it tomorrow!

From PaperBackSwap: 

Follow Friday (18)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.  The featured blogger today is Mollie @ Once Upon a Prologue!

Q: If you could change the ending of any book (or series), which would you choose, and why?

A: For a long time, I was a big House of Night fan.  I read through the sixth book and while reading the seventh, I just had to put it down and be done with it.  If it were up to me, I would have ended the series after about the fifth book, Hunted, killed the bad vampire and tied up all the loose ends right then and there.  The series just keeps going on and on and even though a little part of me still want to know what's going on, I just can't put myself through another book.  

September is for Reading Reviews

I have so many books that I need to read for review and I am ssssoooo behind!!!! I have books from Netgalley, from authors and from publishers that I said I would read and being the bad blogger that I am, I haven't read them yet.  But this September, starting with today, I will read only books I said I would review before reading anything that I've bought.  This is my commitment.  Let's see what I've committed to!

From Netgalley:

The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates
Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen
A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey
Eve by Anna Carey
The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
The Way We Fall by Megan Crew
Prized by Caragh O'Brien

From authors:

Remembrance by Michelle Madow
Lorelei and the Sirens by Aaronni Miller

From publishers:

Envy by Gregg Olsen
Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne

WOW! That is a lot of books! I have a busy month ahead of me and it will probably go into October. I'm so excited for fall to begin!

Want to see my R.A.K.?

Random Acts of Kindness is one of my favorite things to do every month and I love to see what bloggers sent and received over the month.

What I sent:

The Replacement to Vanessa @ Book Soulmates

Strange Angels to Amanda @ The Mortal's Library

Betrayals to Diana @ Books by their Story

What I got:

The Sky is Everywhere from Lisa
The Summer I Learned to Fly from Erika @ Readspect Reviews and Such
The Tail of Emily Windsnap from Jennifer   

A big THANK YOU to the Book Soulmates who make RAK possible and those who sent me books! You guys are amazing :)

I also thought this picture of me on the right is very appropriate.  It's my friend and I in Hollywood on the stars!