Friday, February 3, 2012

In My Mailbox (#4)


In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

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From Netgalley I received the following:


The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
Fury's Fire (Siren's Storm #2) by Lisa Papademetriou
The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers

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By the publisher, I was given:


Pantheons: Book 1 by E.J. Dabel

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This one I got from the author himself:


The New Death and Others by James Hutchings

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These next ones I'm borrowing from our public library:


Bad Blood (Blood Coven #4) by Mari Mancusi
Night School (Blood Coven #5) by Mari Mancusi
Blood Ties (Blood Coven #6) by Mari Mancusi

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And all the following I got free from Amazon! Make sure you check them out, I don't know how long they'll be free for..



Intrigue (The Night Muse Trilogy #1) by Stacey Rychener

Exiled (Immortal Essence #1) by RaShelle Workman

Gifts of the Blood (Gifted Blood #1) by Vicki Keire

The Ultimate Sacrifice (The Gifted Teens #1) by Talia Jager

The Emerald Talisman (Talisman #1) by Brenda Pandos

Haunted Destiny (Midnight Dragonfly #1.5) by Ellie James

Turned at Dark (Shadow Falls #0.5) by C.C. Hunter

Grey Eyes (The Forever Trilogy #1) by B. Alston

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What did you get in your mailbox this week??

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Monthly Round Up: January 2012

For the month of January I had challenged myself to read at least 1 more book than I did last January (6), including...

A. Read 1 book that has been sitting on my shelf/Kindle

B. Read 1 book I recently got

C. Read 1 book from a genre I don't usually read

D. Read 1 vampire book

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☑ Read at least 1 more book than I did last January (which was 6).....11 total books read

  




Stake That (Blood Coven #2) by Mari Mancusi
Girls That Growl (Blood Coven #3) by Mari Mancusi
The Fate of the Muse (Marina's Tales #3) by Derrolyn Anderson
Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2) by Jennifer Estep
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees
Croak (Croak #1) by Gina Damico
My Lunatic Life (Lunatic Life #1) by Sharon Sala
Malice by Griffin Hayes
Invasion (C.H.A.O.S. #1) by Jon S. Lewis
Greek Mythology by Simone Payment

☑ Read 1 book that has been sitting on my shelf/Kindle: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

☑ Read 1 book I recently got: The Fate of the Muse (Marina's Tales #3) by Derrolyn Anderson

☑ Read 1 book from a genre I don't usually read: The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees

☑ Read 1 vampire book: Stake That (Blood Coven #2) by Mari Mancusi

*My favorite book from this month is.......oooh, that's a tough one! I'm gonna have to say that its a tie between Kiss of Frost and The Fate of the Muse. I loved them both and the mythology behind them!

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Books reviewed this month:

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees

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In February I'm challenging myself to read at least 1 more book than I did last February (which was 9), including...

A. At least 5 mythology books
B. A Book with LOVE in the title
C. A Book about a Werewolf
D. A Book with Red on the cover
E. A Contemporary Romance Book
F. Between 5-10 review books
G. And at least 1 "Just for fun" book


*Make sure you check out Melanie's Monthly Reflections post!


Monday, January 30, 2012

It's Monday! What are you Reading? (#5)


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

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This past week I finished reading:



My Lunatic Life (Lunatic Life #1) by Sharon Sala
Malice by Griffin Hayes
Invasion (C.H.A.O.S. #1) by Jon S. Lewis

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Right now I'm reading:


Alienation (C.H.A.O.S. #2) by Jon S. Lewis

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And up next will be:


Hallowed (Unearthly #2) Cynthia Hand

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What are you reading this week?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Review:The Fate of the Muse (Marina's Tales #3) by Derrolyn Anderson

The Fate of the Muse (Marina's Tales, #3)
Title: The Fate of the Muse

Series: Marina's Tales #3

Previous book in this series: Between the Land and the Sea (#1) | The Moon and the Tide (#2)

Author: Derrolyn Anderson

Genre: YA, paranormal

Publication date: September 2011

Published by: Derrolyn Anderson

Source: Review copy from the author (Thanks!)

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Smashwords

Synopsis:

Trouble is stalking Marina. She’s already escaped the clutches of her formidable foe once, but fate has even more trials in store for her. There are evil plans in the works– plans that threaten both her and her newly found family.

As she struggles to come to grips with her unwanted powers, outside forces threaten to tear Marina and Ethan apart, making her doubt their vision of an idyllic future together. Can first love be true love?

My rating: ★★★★★

Marina’s near exposure in Greece caught the attention of the Council of hybrid mermaids. Yes, half-human half-mermaid hybrids have councils too. But this is not necessarily a good thing for Marina. In fact, because of the accident that led Marina to turning into a mermaid in order to save the people from the accident (her father included), she accidentally exposed herself as a mermaid. This, of course, got the attention of the media, and also the Council.

Oh Marina, you are in soooo much trouble!

Marina now has to present herself to the Council and explain why the heck she would transform in public. But what they’re more interested in is how Marina was able to transform. You see, Marina is a hybrid of many talents, talents which even some other hybrids don't even possess! Marina’s plan: lie her butt off!

But if only the problems would stop there...

Because of these many talents that Marina possess she was kidnapped in the last book. Remember that? She and Lorelei being trapped then put into a big mansion? Some guy wanting to use their muse powers for evil? Another mermaid being pregnant?? I’m sure this all rings a bell. Well guess what...they’re back for more! That’s right, Marina is still in danger and someone really wants her...desperately. The problem is, the people after her will be the least ones she expects.

On top of all that, Ethan and Marina are being driven apart. *sigh* All this mermaid stuff, Marina’s powers, the kidnappers, the ex-girlfriend, the jealousy...it’s like all this stuff doesn't want Marina and Ethan to be together.

Marina’s fate seems to be a dark one. But the question is, will Marina be strong enough to overcome these obstacles?

I’ve got one word for you my readers: Uh-MAZE-ing! Marina’s Tales just keep getting better and better! This book had endless amounts of surprises and suspense (you will never guess what happened to Nerissa and the baby she was carrying!) There was so much action throughout the whole book that I found it hard to put down the book! The plot was crazy (in a good way) and there has been noticeable character development for most of the characters across the three books. And as I said in previous reviews, Marina is a very likable character. I especially like that she is very humble.

Ooh! Mythology! I absolutely LOVED that little touch of mythology when they were in the museum! That painting with the nine Greek (or Roman, I guess) Muses, the mermaid in the near-by body of water, and and and....my favorite Greek god, Apollo (although that is also his Roman name)! :D Just when I thought the book couldn't get better the author goes and puts this in...Awesome :)

And guess what...I totally get the "That's what she said" joke now! I thought it was some inside joke between the characters, but it turns out a lot of people know about this. Sadly enough, my 13 year cousin had to explain it to me! 13 years old! Man, what are they teaching kids nowadays *shakes head* Anyway, since I found out what the joke meant I went back through all the books to find those jokes...it’s so much more funny now that I get it! :D I could tell you what it means, but I try to keep my reviews to a PG-13 rating ;)

I could go on and on and on talking about this totally awesome book, but how about you just go and read this series yourself ;) Recommended to those who love a good mermaid story!

I absolutely loved this book, definitely one of my favorites, and I cant wait for book 4!


Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a comment! :)

Review: The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees

The Juliet Spell
Title: The Juliet Spell

Author: Douglas Rees

Genre: YA, paranormal romance

Publication date: September 27, 2011

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Source: the publishers via Netgalley

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Synopsis:

I wanted the role of Juliet more than anything. I studied hard. I gave a great reading for it—even with Bobby checking me out the whole time. I deserved the part.

I didn't get it. So I decided to level the playing field, though I actually might have leveled the whole play. You see, since there aren't any Success in Getting to Be Juliet in Your High School Play spells, I thought I'd cast the next best—a Fame spell. Good idea, right?

Yeah. Instead of bringing me a little fame, it brought me someone a little famous. Shakespeare. Well, Edmund Shakespeare. William's younger brother.

Good thing he's sweet and enthusiastic about helping me with the play...and—ahem—maybe a little bit hot. But he's from the past. Way past. Cars amaze him—cars! And cell phones? Ugh.

Still, there's something about him that's making my eyes go star-crossed...

My rating: ★★★★☆

All Miranda wanted was to be cast as Juliet. So after tryouts, just to be sure that she would get the part in the famous Romeo and Juliet play, she did a little spell. The spell was supposed to be a harmless. It was supposed to get Miri the role of Juliet. It was not supposed bring William Shakespeare's younger brother Edmund back from the past! But it did. Now Edmund is stuck in a future with weird contraptions like the car, TV, and cellphone...yes, these things amaze him, which I find pretty hilarious!