Monthly Round Up + Book of the Month: October 2012 (And Happy Halloween!)

Hey everyone! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! This has got to be my most favorite holiday of the year! I just love anything paranormal/supernatural, monsters, ghosts, witches, and CANDY (that I steal from my little bros, lol)! Anyway, hope you're all having a great (and safe) one!

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And now onto the post.....books I read this month:

Heartless (Pretty Little Liars #7) by Sara Shepard

Wanted (Pretty Little Liars #8) by Sara Shepard

Blood Forever (Blood Coven Vampires #8) by Mari Mancusi

Why am I slacking in my reading? you ask. I got two words for ya: Nursing school. It's crazy how much work it is! But then again, we are dealing with taking care of people...their lives will literally be in our hands! Scary thought, right? Anyway, I've been doing pretty well so far. I have developed this system that will motivate me even more to do well in school, it's really very awesome! For every exam I get an A on, I will reward myself with buying TWO books from my wishlist. For every B, ONE book. Anything lower than that, nada. So far we've taken 2 exams: on the 1st I got an A and on the 2nd I got a B (and I have another coming up next week), so that means THREE books! :D I haven't bought them yet though...I'm going to wait till this quarter is over.

So anyway, that is my excuse for my lack of pleasure reading and my going AWOL on my blog. And you guys probably don't care about all this so I'll shut up about that now, lol.

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"Book of the Month" is a monthly event hosted by Book Whales YA Reviews. This is done to highlight one of the books that you have read in the previous month.

 This will enable us to comment from one blog to another. Books you recommend for others to read. Hope you guys will join us. We would love to see your favorite book of the month!

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As you saw, I didn't have much to choose from, and they were all really great books. But for this month I think I'm gonna go with....

This book was supposed to be the last of the series, and I thought it was AMAZING! The mystery to the mysterious "A" was finally solved, and there was a lot action and surprises and AWESOMENESS! If you love a a good mystery, I recommend this series...it's just CRAZY!

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Books I reviewed this month:

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Other posts:

Cover Reveal: Jenny Plague-Bringer (The Paranormals #4) by J.L. Bryan

(New Cover!) Cover Reveal: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Book Excerpt: Under the Desert Moon by Emma Meade

Cover Reveal: Day After (The 19th Year Trilogy #2) by Emi Gayle

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And lastly, I have an AWESOME giveaway going on! Check it out!

Click the pic to take you to the giveaway!

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Okay, I think that's all. And just to satisfy my curiosity, what will you be dressing up as this Halloween?? If you're not dressing up, what's been your fave costume?

Review: Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Title: Jekel Loves Hyde

Author: Beth Fantaskey

Genre: YA, paranormal romance

Publication date: May 2010

Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers

Source: Own hardcover

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Book Depository

Synopsis:

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents rules; especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.

To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything, even Tristen's love just for the thrill of being . . . bad.

My rating: ★★★★☆
For a girl who prefers reading a series, I thought this standalone was pretty darn good! I really liked the story...It sucked me in from the start and would not let go!

Showcase Sunday (#24)

Welcome to Showcase Sunday, hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea. The aim of this event is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed form the libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. For more information about how this feature works and to join in, click here.

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This first one was an RAK gift...thanks sooo much! I'm super excited to read this one! Norse mythology, yeah!

And I won the following Swag from Mandee over at Compelled By Words. Yay! Thanks so much! Kimberly Derting just rocks!

Oh, and BTW, I have some double of these that I'll be giving away,
so be on the look out for that real soon!

Well, that's it for me. Thank you for stopping by! Now back to my pile of homework that needs to be done by tomorrow... *sigh*

What bookish things did you get this week??

Review: The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Calling

Series: Darkness Rising #2

Previous book in this series: The Gathering

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: YA, paranormal, urban fantasy

Publication date: April 2012

Published by: HarperCollins

Source: Borrowed from library

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Book Depository

Synopsis:

Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is -a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

My rating: ★★★★☆
Loved this book! There was lots of action, suspense, with extra doses of suspense! I think at one point I even held my breath and didn't even realize it until my lungs were like, "Hey, I need oxygen over here!" lol

Cover Reveal: Day After (The 19th Year Trilogy #2) by Emi Gayle

Release Date: May 6, 2013

Published by: J. Taylor Publishing

About the Book: Demon crypts. Vampire lairs. Glowing angels. Sexy sirens. The stuff of fiction.

Or so Winn Thomas always thought.

Since being accepted into the fold of the supernatural, he knows better. None of what he imagined is true, but everything he feared is, and binding himself to his changeling girlfriend until her nineteenth birthday will give him an education far beyond what he’d get at his human high school.

Luckily, Winn’s not giving up, he won’t back down, and he definitely isn’t going to run away with his tail between his legs. After all, only werewolves have tails. Right?

In this, the second of the 19th Year trilogy, Winn’s facing the challenge of one lifetime. If he doesn’t learn the truth about mythological creatures, his girlfriend Mac Thorne won’t either. That means, in six months, when she chooses her final form, she won’t know what to pick.

Winn, though, has his own ideas about Mac’s final selection—plans she knows nothing of.

He intends to have her pick human.

Whether she can or not.

Book one in the series:

Showcase Sunday (#23)

Welcome to Showcase Sunday, hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea. The aim of this event is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed form the libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. For more information about how this feature works and to join in, click here.

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Hey everyone! I got some awesome stuff this week that I'd like to share with you all! (Click on the image to take you to the Goodreads page of the book for more info.)

First, I won this in a giveaway held by Kim Harrington (Thanks sooo much!) I am super excited to start reading this!

Dead and Buried ARC, Jade necklace, $10 giftcard for iTunes
and the Dead and Buried playlist!

I'm borrowing this one from the library (I'm sad that it's the last in the series, but I'm anxious to find out how things will turn out after Rayne's little bargain with Hades, Greek god of the Underworld...)

This next one I got from the author to review (E. is a great author! And I am super exited to start this one! It sounds like such a fun read! And I just love that cover!)

And lastly, the next ones I got from Netgalley to review:

• The New Kid: This one sounds interesting and more than slightly mysterious :)
• Lunatic Revenge: I've read the 1st book in the series, but not the 2nd, and this one is the 3rd one! But I loved the 1st one and once I read the 2nd one I'll move onto this one :)
• Undeadly: Okay, this one just sounds AMAZING! First of all, I LOVE reapers and the main character is a reaper! Second of all, I LOVE mythology and there's Egyptian mythology going on in this one! :D Apparently the god Anubis is the one who chooses the reapers. So yes, I am beyond excited to read this one! Two of my favorite things in one book...how great is that?!

So that's it for me! What bookish things did you get this week??

Review: The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Gathering

Series: Darkness Rising #1

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: YA, paranormal, urban fantasy

Publication date: April 2011

Published by: HarperCollins

Source: Borrowed from library

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Book Depository

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.

My rating: ★★★★☆
I really enjoyed this first book to the sequel series of Darkest Powers trilogy (and I really liked that first series!) Yep, in this one there are more kids being experimented on when they don't even know about it. That is, until strange things start happening do they realize that their "safe" little town holds more secrets then they can imagine.

Review: Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings

Title: Poltergeeks

Series: Poltergeeks #1

Author: Sean Cummings

Genre: YA, paranormal, mystery

Publication date: October 2, 2012

Published by: Strange Chemistry - Angry Robot

Source: review copy from publishers via Netgalley (thanks!)

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Book Depository

Synopsis:

15-year-old Julie Richardson is about to learn that being the daughter of a witch isn't all it's cracked up to be. When she and her best friend, Marcus, witness an elderly lady jettisoned out the front door of her home, it's pretty obvious to Julie there's a supernatural connection.

In fact, there's a whisper of menace behind increasing levels of poltergeist activity all over town. After a large-scale paranormal assault on Julie's high school, her mother falls victim to the spell Endless Night. Now it's a race against time to find out who is responsible or Julie won't just lose her mother's soul, she'll lose her mother's life.

My rating: ★★★★☆
This book was a very enjoyable read! I thought the story line was very interesting...of course, me loving witches, magic, and ghosts! The story was very action-y, suspenseful, quite funny, and overall cute!

Showcase Sunday (#22)

Welcome to Showcase Sunday, hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea. The aim of this event is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed form the libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. For more information about how this feature works and to join in, click here.

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Hey guys! Hope you're all having a great weekend! (Mine is being spent studying nonstop for an exam tomorrow...lame)

This past week I got a lot of great things! They are all mostly gifts so I'd like to give everyone a HUGE thanks!

Thank you so much for the RAKs, Corina and Brittan! You guys are awesome!

I also got a little gift from Derrolyn Anderson... I LOVES it!

Gorgeous necklace!

I also borrowed this one from the library (crazy stuff went down, CRAZY!)

Once again, thanks to everyone for your awesomeness!

What bookish things did you get this week??

Giveaway: Dark Frost (Mythos Academy #3) by Jennifer Estep

This giveaway is now over. All winner have been chosen and e-mail.

Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce that I'll be giving away a SIGNED copy of this AMAZING book: Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep! It's book 3 in the Mythos Academy series and it was published by Kensington (K-Teen). I would like to thank the publicist at Kensington, Vida, for providing this copy to give away...Thank you SO much!

Below are books 1-3 in the series. Click on each image to learn more about the book.

  

So, what's up for grabs? you ask. For this giveaway there are going to be SIX (6) winners! The main prize includes the following:

1st place winner will receive a SIGNED paperback copy of Dark Frost and a set of 4 bookmarks (one for each book)!

And the other 5 people will receive some awesome swag: a set of 4 bookmarks, one for each book of the series.

Prettyful!

Sound good? Awesome! All you have to do to enter is fill out the following Rafflecopter form (giveaway is international, BTW!):

Quick note: In order to be entered to win one of the five sets of bookmarks you MUST answer the question in "Leave a Blog Post Comment" task on the Rafflecopter form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Please read the terms and conditions!*

Good luck to everyone who enters (I'll be totally jealous of the winner...I LOVE this series!) and the winners will announced a month from today, on Nov. 12th.