Waiting on Wednesday (66)

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: Falling Kingdoms
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Hitting the Shelves: December 11, 2012

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Why I want this: For some reason I've had this insatiable need to read anything fantasy and I have been devouring fantasy novels like it's no one's business! I just love them so much! Falling Kingdoms is definitely on my must read list before the year is over! I'm so excited!!

Stacking the Shelves (10)

Hey there! Welcome to this week's Stacking the Shelves! This awesome meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and we get to show each other the books we acquired this week whether bought, from the library or for review!

Unfortunately, I'm on a book buying ban and I'm not even letting myself go on Amazon because it's way too tempting! So these are the books I got for review this week:

For review from Netgalley:

Amber House by Kelly Moore

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

Mark of the Witch by Maggie Shayne

Reviewed this Week:

God Save the Queen by Kate Locke

The Little Woods by McCormick Templeman

Once by Anna Carey

Giveaways!

Win signed ARCs of Prodigy by Marie Lu and Hallowed by Cynthia Hand HERE! 

Win the August box of books giveaway HERE!

Win an ARC of The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer HERE!

Review: God Save the Queen

Title: God Save the Queen
Author: Kate Locke
Series: The Immortal Empire #1
Publisher: Orbit
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC

The undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath), Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day, and leeches are considered a delicacy. And a world where technology lives side by side with magic. The year is 2012 and Pax Britannia still reigns.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it is her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But when her sister goes missing, Xandra will set out on a path that undermines everything she believed in and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire. And she is the key-the prize in a very dangerous struggle.

My thoughts: 

I thought this was a really interesting book! I really enjoyed the world building and the development of the creatures. Locke described it kind of like an evolution and the royal families evolved into the vampires that they are in the present time in God Save the Queen. It’s a very unique take on a world with vampires, werewolves, faeries, goblins and half bloods of everything in between!

I do have to say that Xandra is a pretty awesome main character! She’s part of the royal guard and had devoted her life to protecting the members of the aristocrat. She’s also a halvie so in her case she is half vampire and half human. Or is she? In the beginning of the book, one of her sisters, who has been at Bedlam, the mental institution, has gone missing and it sends Xandra on a mission and she ends up uncovering a lot of secrets about her family and the royals.

Looking for her sister brings her to meeting a very hot werewolf and I believe he is the leader of the werewolves of Scotland. This book became very confusing for me because I didn’t know there was a glossary of terms in the back. Soon, they get to know each other very well and they become lovers which I expected to be really fun because I thought this was an adult novel. But the author just skips right over all the sexy times. I’ve read some YA novels that were more graphic than God Save the Queen.

I also thought the cover was very misleading. The girl on the front is totally decked out in awesome steampunk cloths yet the steampunk is very minimal in the book. I expected more of a Girl in the Steel Corset (same author) feel but it definitely wasn’t there. I really enjoyed the vampire skulls on the cover; those are really awesome!

Overall, I was just a little disappointed. The cover and synopsis of God Save the Queen gave me expectations that were not met in the story. But the world building was interesting enough that I gave it 3 hearts because I will probably continue the series to find out what happened with the characters!

Chris Colfer Signing Recap and Giveaway!

I have known for some time that Chris Colfer was writing a middle grade novel but what I didn't know was that he was going to do a book tour! I just figured that because he's super famous and so busy with Glee that he probably wouldn't.  But to my surprise, no only did he do a book tour but he had two separate appearances in the Los Angeles area! I was so excited to go; I couldn't wait!!

So we (my sister, my friend and I) arrived at Mrs. Nelson's around 2:30 and there already were a whole bunch of people there.  We hung around until they started passing out wrist bands so that we could line up.

We came prepared! It was a pretty warm day so we brought a huge umbrella, sunscreen and a few chairs because we didn't want to sit on the ground. 

While we were waiting, the staff of Mrs. Nelson's passed around a copy of The Wishing Spell for everyone to sign if they wanted as a gift for Chris. My sister put her phone number in it!

When he finally got there, they herded everyone through as fast as they could. There were no pictures, no personalization of books, no talking, reading or Q&A.  It was kind of a let down. It all happened so fast I didn't even have time to process that I met the guy! Luckily my sister didn't follow the rules and snapped a few pics! 

And she got one of Chris and me in the same picture!!

Craziness, I know!!! So when it was all said and done, I got my book signed, he actually said words to me and my sister got a picture with him and me, sort of! 

Kind of a crappy signature, but oh well! I'm sure he signs thousands of autographs a year! 

And now for the giveaway! Unfortunatelly I was unable to get my ARC signed but that doesn't mean one lucky person won't get the chance to win it! It's still a free book! 

Rules:

• Must be 13 years or older to enter
• Must be a US resident
• Giveaway will end promptly on Friday Aug. 17 at 11:59pm
• Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Little Woods

Title: The Little Woods
Author: McCormick Templeman
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Release Date: July 10, 2012
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC

Are the woods behind St. Bede's Academy really haunted, or does bad stuff just happen there? When Calista Wood, a new student, arrives midway through her junior year, St. Bede's feels like a normal school . . . until she discovers that a girl had disappeared a couple of months earlier. Some kids think she ran away, others think she was murdered, but it's only when Cally starts digging around that she finds the startling truth.

Watch as Cally enters a world of privilege, weekend-long parties, high school romances, and . . . well-kept secrets. This page-turner will appeal to teens looking for a fast-paced thriller. Written in a voice at once gripping and crystal clear, debut novelist, McCormick Templeman, will take readers on a twisting and turning journey as only a "new girl" can experience.

My thoughts: 

I was so excited to get my hands on this book and start it! I thought I was really going to get a good scary story but when I discovered was a bit different. I wasn’t necessarily disappointed, because it was good, but it turned out to be more of a mystery/thriller type book. It isn’t bad because I love a good mystery that I can’t figure out but I was really hoping for something with a little more horror.

I was very intrigued by the synopsis! A little girl and her friend go missing in the wood near a boarding school and then about ten years later the little girl’s sister decides to attend that boarding school. We’re given no information of the facts surround her disappearance, so going into the story you don’t know if there could be a paranormal aspect to it. So there’s all this mystery surrounding this school before she even gets there.

Personally, I think the main character Cally is a little crazy for willingly applying and enrolling in the very school where her sister went missing! Really, really creepy! And of course there is more going on than Cally could ever have imagined. Before she arrived at the school, another girl went missing and most people believed she ran away. But when Cally and her friends find a body in the wood, things begin to unravel very quickly!

Boarding school dramas are always very interesting to me because with the absence of parents and constant chaperons, almost anything can happen. You don’t question why kids are sneaking around the school grounds late at night or throwing parties or hooking up behind the gym. It’s a boarding school and they’re usually not going to get caught.

Overall, I really enjoyed this thrilling mystery! I couldn’t figure out who had done it by the end so that’s a win in my book. I give The Little Wood 3 hearts for being an interesting mystery even though I was hoping for a horror.

August Box of Books Giveaway!

Another giveaway? YES!! A few months ago I cleaned out my bookshelves and decided to giveaway a whole bunch of book! This is going to be the last box of books giveaway for a while but don't fret, I have more giveaways up my sleeve! Here are the books that are in this box:

Rules: 

• Must be 13 or older to enter the giveaway!
• US residents only please!
• Giveaway ends promptly at 11:59pm on August 31
• Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen
• Thanks for enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday (65)

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: The Crown of Embers
Author: Rae Carson
Series: Fire and Thorns #2
Hitting the Shelves: September 18, 2012

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

Why I want this: I read The Girl of Fire and Thorns just recently and it's one of the best books I've read in a long time! I absolutely fell in love with the characters, the setting and the whole story! If you haven't read it, you need to!! Right. NOW! I picked up a copy of The Crown of Embers at ALA and it will definitely be one of the books I read for our ALA Read-a-Thon! 

Looking for a good Read-a-Thon? Have so many review books you can't see straight anymore? Come join our ALA Read-a-Thon! It's for anyone that wants to participate! It's August 8-13 and we're going to read as many books as possible!