Mythos Academy Swag Giveaway

And here's round 2 of the Mythos Academy GIVEAWAY! So, Midnight Frost (book 5 in the series) is set to be released either late July or early August, so I have decided to give a few of these away every month until the release of Midnight Frost. And here's another chance! Again, I am offering:

Bookmarks, bookmarks, and more gorgeous bookmarks!

PLUS  a little something extra......

Out of all the people who entered, ONLY 26% read any of the Mythos Academy books! That means most of you have NOT read the series! I was seriously shocked. So I have taken it upon myself to fix that! Along with the bookmarks, one lucky winner will receive a Touch of Frost e-book from Amazon! (Don't own a Kindle? Get a free reading app for your computer/iPad/phone here!)

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy; a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why; especially since I should have been the one who died...

All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is fill out the following Rafflecopter form! Easy peasy! But please note that there are TWO parts to the questions! Also if you entered last month and already commented on this post, you do not have to comment again (unless you want to update your answer, or somethin'.) All you have to do is fill in the blank in the form and click the green button. And I added one more entry :)

The Rules and Other-Important-Stuff-You-Should-Probably-Read:

• This giveaway is International
• The winner(s) will be notified by e-mail on Feb. 28th and will have 48 hours to claim the prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. (So please, when you sign in to the Rafflecopter form, use an e-mail you check often and double check that it is correct.)
• Prize for 1st winner: Touch of Frost e-book + Midnight Frost bookmark
• Prize for 2nd winner: set of 5 bookmarks
• Prize for 3rd winner: Midnight Frost bookmark + bookmark of choice
• Must be 16 or older to enter or have parent's permission
• 1 entry per person. Duplicate entries will be deleted and participant will be disqualified
• All entries will be verified. If any are falsified, all entries for that participant will be deleted, and the participant will be disqualified
• Giveaway details are subject to change without notice
• Void where prohibited by law

a Rafflecopter giveaway

January winners:

Good luck to everyone who enters! And if you don't win this time around, come back next month for the same giveaway! It will be going on until August!

Thanks for entering!

Review: Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton

Title: Ghost Hand

Series: The PSS Chronicles #1

Author: Ripley Patton

Genre: YA, paranormal

Publication date: November 2012

Published by: Ripley Patton

Source: from the author for review (thanks SO much!)

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon

Synopsis:

Olivia Black just discovered that her ghost hand, a rare birth defect, can do more than light up a room. It can reach into people and pull things out. Things from the darkest depths of the human psyche never meant to exist in this world.

Olivia can pickpocket the soul.

But she can’t control her ability, or the strange items it extracts, and the only thing between Olivia and the men bent on taking the power of her hand is a boy she barely knows and doesn't trust.

My rating: ★★★★★
This book was just...wow! I freakin' LOVED it! It was just absolutely amazing! I literally read it in ONE sitting! ONE!

My Goodreads Reading Progress :)

What initially captured my attention about this book was the premise. It just sounded very intriguing, and the story did not disappoint! And that cover? Love it!

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard

Hey guys, I've got a gorgeous cover reveal for you all and a giveaway at the end...Enjoy!

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Isn't it gorgeous?!

Title: The Forgotten Ones

Author: Laura Howard

Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Expected release date: May 15, 2013

Age Group: New Adult

Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney 

Book Description:

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more. 

When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.

Laura Howard | Facebook | Twitter

Share on Facebook and/or Twitter and you could win a $50 Amazon (or B & N) Gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Showcase Sunday (#33)

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.

A little update...

So, um, yes...I am still alive. Sorry I have been missing for a bit. Things at nursing school just got crazier than usual. I mean, lots of studying for the 3 exams I had in one day, followed by a 12-hour clinical day at the hospital? Yeah, that can drive anyone insane! Anyway, I survived and am back! Things at school should calm down for a bit, but if I'm gone for a while, you'll know why ;)

Here's is my 2 weeks worth of bookish stuff:

For review:

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books for Dualed! And for Override I want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press! (Don't tell anyone, but I have not read Glitch yet! Shhh! However, I am super excited to read them both!)

Book swag:

Thank you Jodi Meadows for all this gorgeous swag! Now, I had more but I had taken some to my local bookstore to stick in copies of Incarnate. I went back yesterday and all the Incarnate copies were gone! Hurray! I have 2 bookplates and 1 bookmark left, and I am planning on taking these to the book store as well, if more copies come in soon, that is. If they don't, I may give some away here on my blog ;) We'll just see.

Bought:

And while I was at Hastings yesterday I bought these^^^ The total came up to only $11 for all 3! I wasn't planning on buying anything but I could not pass up this great bargain! I also am not ashamed to admit that I bought these to make myself feel better after the horrible week I had at school...it kinda worked ;)

Okay, I think that's all. What bookish things did you get this week?

Blog Tour: Reaper by L.S.Murphy Guest Post

The Sock Monkey Cap

Writers can be a curious lot. We have quirks, superstitions, and little curiosities that would drive most people insane.

Review: Reaper by L.S. Murphy

Title: Reaper

Author: L.S. Murphy

Genre: YA, paranormal

Publication date: January 7th 2013

Published by: J. Taylor Publshing

Source: from the publishers for review (thanks!)

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon

Synopsis:

There's no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.

She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says she has no choice but to fulfill.

It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.

Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.

Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.

Maybe ... just maybe ... that’s okay.

It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be to who she really is.

My rating: ★★★☆☆
This book is hard to review...I LOVE reapers, but this was just not what I expected. The blurb of the book had me believing that it would be a fluffy, light, and humorous read...I was wrong!

Showcase Sunday (#32)

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.

For review:

I love a good mystery and suspense novel, so this one sounds awesome. Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for this one!

Thanks to Ripley Patton for this book. I actually already finished reading it and it was amazing! So keep an eye out for my review either later today or maybe tomorrow!

Bought:

This book is about Greek mythology, the Oneiroi specifically. If you don't who they are, they are the Greek gods of dreams: Morpheus, Phobetor, Phantasos, and Ikleos (sometimes they say Ikleos and Phobetor are the same god though...) I have never really read anything about the dream gods, so I'm super excited for this one!

Swag!

And thanks to Jennifer Estep for all these awesome bookmarks! I LOVE Mythos Academy! It's one of my favorite series so I'm really happy to share this swag with you guys! And look! Midnight Frost swag! Eeep! I LOVE that cover and am SO excited for that book! Give me more Logan!

Anyway, Midnight Frost is set to be released either late July or early August, so I have decided to give a few of these away every month until the release of Midnight Frost. So stay tuned, because the January edition of this giveaway is just around the corner!

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

Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

Title: Splintered

Series: Splintered #1

Author: A.G. Howard

Genre: YA, fantasy, retelling

Publication date: January 1st, 2013

Published by: Amulet Books

Source: the publishers via Netgalley (Thanks!)

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Synopsis:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My rating: ★★★★★
So, I never read the original "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," so all I had to go on was the old Disney cartoon and Tim Burton's movie (which I love!) And what did I think about this book?? Well, I thought it was awesome! It was a very interesting and cool take on the original with a very dark twist. It was almost like a the horror movie version Alice in Wonderland playing in my head! That's how dark and creepy it was! But guess what...I LOVE horror so I loved that about the book! I wouldn't dub this book horror, per se, though, because it wasn't. It's just the scenes and the creatures that played in my head that were uber creepy.

Talking about twists...there was a twist at the end of the book that I did not see coming! It was pretty...wow. And I love surprises!

Blog Tour + Giveaway - Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter by Nikki Jefford

Hey guys! Welcome to my stop on the Aurora Sky Blog Tour! I've got a few things going on for you today, but first here's a little about the book...

From Goodreads:

If there is one thing eighteen-year-old Aurora Sky wants, it’s to get off the iceberg she calls home. Being kissed before she graduates wouldn’t hurt either.

Then a near-fatal car wreck changes everything. Government agents step in and save Aurora’s life in exchange for her services as a vampire hunter. In Alaska. Basically she’s a glorified chew toy. All thanks to her rare blood type, which sends a vampire into temporary paralysis right before she has to finish the job… by hand.

Now Aurora’s only friends are groupies of the undead and the only boy she can think about may very well be a vampire. And if he’s a vampire, will she be forced to kill him?

For ages 16+

Aurora's first encounter with a vampire:

There was an electronic crackle, and a voice filled the room. “Welcome to initiation, Aurora. This test will last as long as you want.”

I wanted out of this insane asylum. I rushed to the door and tried yanking down the silver handle, but it didn’t budge.

I turned. My eyes raced over every square inch of the enclosed room. There was a metal table in the very center. I walked up to it and looked down at the weapons laid on top: a handgun, crossbow, hunting knife, ax, and wooden stake.

The intercom crackled back to life.

“Once the subject has fed on your blood you will need to choose a weapon and finish him off.”

“What? No! I’m not killing anyone. Melcher? Let me out of here.”

“Now!” I screamed.

“Good luck, Aurora.”

I expected something horrible to occur after he signed off, but nothing happened.

I circled the table and kept glancing at the door. Trapped inside a windowless room with weapons that made my skin crawl. Fantastic. There wasn’t even a clock to track the minutes dragging by. If they planned on keeping me locked up for so long they could’ve at least put a chair inside.

I folded my arms over my chest and looked at the two-way mirror.

“What’s the matter with Dracula? Can’t find his cape?” I chuckled, but it sounded nervous.

I walked over to the far corner of the room and leaned my back against the wall.

There was a hollow knock at the door across the room. It pounded three times in succession, producing an eerie, drawn-out echo.

I wanted to crack a joke, but something didn’t feel right. My heart pounded its way up to my throat and I’d barely swallowed when the door flew open. A middle-aged man in flannel was thrown in. The door slammed shut behind him. He nearly fell on the floor, but caught himself. Long greasy hair covered his face as he bent forward. When he righted himself, I saw that his cheeks were sunken, lips bared over yellow teeth. He snarled and spit leaked out the corners of his mouth.

I stood up straight.

That's right, TWO giveaways! This first one is the Blog Tour Giveaway, and the second one is just my individual giveaway.

Here is what Nikki is offering for the first one:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That one ends February 3rd, 2013.

As for mine, here is what I have to offer:

(Thought it would be appropriate to show off the bookmark with one of my many nursing books. We're talking about vamps here...so, risk for bleeding, anyone?? ;))

There will be 5 winners and each winner will get ONE Aurora Sky bookmark and ONE page corner vamp bookmark that I made (learn how to make your own bookmarks here!) Giveaway ends at the end of this month. All you have to do to enter is fill out the following Rafflecopter form and leave me a comment on this blog post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The Rules and Other-Important-Stuff-You-Should-Probably-Read:
(these are only for MY giveaway)

• This giveaway is International
• The winners will be notified by e-mail on January 31st and will have 48 hours to claim the prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. (So please, when you sign in to the Rafflecopter form, use an e-mail you check often and double check that it is correct.)
• Must be 16 or older to enter or have parent's permission
• 1 entry per person. Duplicate entries will be deleted and participant will be disqualified
• All entries will be verified. If any are falsified, all entries for that participant will be deleted, and the participant will be disqualified
• Giveaway details are subject to change without notice
• Void where prohibited by law

Good Luck to everyone who enters!

Review: Broken by A.E. Rought

Title: Broken

Series: Broken #1

Author: A.E. Rought

Genre: YA, paranormal romance, retelling

Publication date: January 8th 2013

Published by: Strange Chemistry

Source: the publishers via Netgalley (thanks!)

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Synopsis:

Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

My rating: ★★★★★
Man, this book was just the sweetest thing ever! A little creepy, too. This book, you could say, is a modern retelling Frankenstein with some romance thrown in. I have not read the original, but I LOVED this book!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (#16)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.

This past week I finished reading:

Currently working on rating this book and writing it's review. Having mixed feelings about it, so stay tuned for my review...

Right now I'm reading:

I really need to finish Before I Wake. I'm borrowing it from the library and its kinda over due...whoops! lol

But they're both really good books so far!

And up next is:

I've already read this one and I absolutely loved it! But it's the only one I've read in the series, so I decided this year was the year I was going to finish reading the Kane Chronicles. I'm also doing a buddy read with a friend from Goodreads :) Have I mentioned how AMAZING Rick Riordan is?? I LOVE his writing!

So, what are you reading this week?

Showcase Sunday (#31)

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.

Gifted:

I want to thank my good friend Kendra from Kendra Talks Books for these! Not too long ago a whole bunch of authors came to a Barnes and Noble in Seattle and had a signing. I really wanted to go, but it's a really long drive and the roads were really bad with the snow and ice. Fortunately, Kendra was able to get me a signed copy of Velveteen and Whisper! I also sent her my copy of Anna Dressed in Blood, and she was able to get me that one signed too! Eeep! I was so excited to get my copies for Christmas! So, thank you Kendra, you rock!

Freebie:

I got this one a few days ago when it was free, but its only 99 cents now, so check it out!

For Review:

Thanks SO much to Netgalley and Te Da Media for this ARC! I am SOOO excited to read it! There's Greek mythology involved...Eeeeeep!!!! A Hades and Persephone story, to be exact!

I also received Audrey's Guide To Black Magic by Jodi Gehrman to beta read. That is the 2nd book in the series. The 1st book is Audrey's Guide To Witchcraft, which is a really good book! So thanks to Jodi for that one!

This post is also worth 2 weeks of bookish things. I didn't post last week because...well...actually, I cant even remember what I was doing last week! LOL! Oh! I also won a $25 giftcard for Amazon in a giveaway, and my parents gave me some money for Christmas which I intend to use to buy books! So I'll keep you guys posted on that, since I haven't used up a cent yet.

Anyway, tell me what things you got this past week!