Sunday, September 9, 2012

A Shell Full of Books #19

 
My mission to bring you books that the world has given us that I got this week.
Cheesy, but funny. :D
 
Here they are!
 
(Sorry for the bad quality)
 
Won:
 
(I am SOO excited for this one. I was so happy I won it.)
Thanks goes to Stephanie from Once Upon a Chapter
 
Thanks goes to Alexis from The Literature Lion
 
Thanks goes to Natalie from Literary Rambles
 
Birthday Gift:
 
Rapture (Fallen #4) by Lauren Kate
Thanks goes to my parents and my sister. THANK YOU!
 
Random Buzzers:
 
Scored by Lauren McLaughlin
(It sounded good. And I had the points...)
 
Bought:
 
I Left My Heart by Debbie Macomber
(Bought on an impulse. I LOVE DEBBIE MACOMBER!)
 
 
So, what did you get in your shell this week?
Let me know in the comments!
 
Until next time!
 
 

Cover Reveals


Found some more covers that I thought I'd share with you.
 
 
 
 
 
Pulled by A. L. Jackson
 
 
 
 
Flashes by Tim O'Rourke
 
 
 
 
 
 
Infatuate (Gilded Wings #2) by Aimee Agresti
 
 
 
Betwixt by Melissa Pearl
 
 
The titles lead you to their Goodreads page!
 
Until next time!
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, September 7, 2012

Review: Partials by Dan Wells

 
WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS
 
The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of "I Am Not a Serial Killer," takes readers on a pulsepounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.
 
Review:
 
Plot: This is how this book went for me:
 
 
 
Yeah, the beginning was confusing, and the whole middle was boring. I am not a fan of huge paragraphs of a main character's thoguhts. Especially when it's in third person. It's boring. But when the real action started, it was awesome. Wells is great at creating suspense. There was always the fear of getting caught by the Senators, or the Partials or the Voice. That or dying of the RM virus. It really got my blood rushing.
 
But there is one thing that I was confused about throught the whole book. Why was the population was like it was? Not once did Wells explain what the Isolation War was. Why did the Partials need to be created? Why did the war start in teh first place? Wells never explained any of it in the book. But in the shor novella he wrote, it might explain things.
 
Characters:
I was annoyed by them. They were the typical characters: the boyfriend that wants to protect the heroine, the evil society dictators, the best friend ready to defy anyone, blah blah blah. I was mostly annoyed at the main character, Kira. She was the heroine of YA. Stubborn, has to save everyone, finds out something is different about her, torn between what society wants and what she knows is right. Ugh. And Wells wrote her like many would write a character like her. All in the same way, if you know what I mean. I just wish there was something strange about her. Just to make her a bit different.
 
The only character I like was Samm. With two M's. He was thoughtful, quiet, non-agressive. He was a spy, but didnt' act like it when he was taken. He was---not the typical YA hero.
 
Romance:
The most romance displayed in this book was Kira constantly battling herself between marrying Marcus or not. It got annoying, but at least it wasn't overplayed. But one thing I did like was that there was no love triangle present. Sure, two boys, one girl, but Samm never made a move on Kira, but I feel he might later.
 
Ending:
I'm using typical a lot. But this ending was. Girl finds out a shocking secret about herself and goes to look for the mysterious boy for answers.
 
Future:
Fragments is out Feb. 26th, 2013. I will read it. :D
 
Rating:
 
Cover:
 
Ending:
 
 
*Bought this book
 
 
Keep On Reading!
 
 
Up Next:
Already finished and LOVED IT! Review to come!
 
Up Next really:
Started. Love it already. :D
 
 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

One Year Blogoversary & Birthday Giveaway

 
YAY!!! ONE YEAR OF BLOGGING!!!
AND MY BIRTHDAY!!!
 
Okay, I lied. Yes, it's my birthday to day, the 5th of September, but I started blogging the 9th. Officially the 9th. Not the thing in August.
 
Anyway, it's my one year blogoversary, and my birthday.
I'm an adult!!! Officially! I CAN VOTE!!
 
 
YEAH!!!!!!
 
 
 
Can you tell what movie I like? lol
 
ANYWAY, ON TO THE GIVEAWAY!!!
 
So, to say thank you to all of the awesome bloggers that have supported me and to all the commenters and the followers, I decided to have a little giveaway. And it's half international.
 
International or US:
 
$10 Amazon Giftcard
 
or
 
US only:
 
One book from the:
 
 
Rules:
1. Only one winner! Sorry, I'm not that rich.
2. Open International for the giftcard.
3. Open to US only for a book from the bookstore
4. I'm not responible for the book if it gets damaged or lost.
5. 13 years or older please.
6. The winner will be choosen at random from rafflecopter.
7. Winner will have 48 hours to respond, or I will have to pick a new winner.
8. Just use the rafflecopter to enter :D

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you guys once again. I never thought I'd get this far. 
 
Keep On Reading!
  
 

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Killing Two Birds with One Stone #26

 
KTBWOS is a meme that brings you giveaways that are happening around the blogging universe.
 
Here's this week's birds.
 
 
#1
 
Sparkles and Lightning Follower Appreciation Giveaway
 
Sparakles and Lightning. I love this blog. I've been following it for a long time.
Well, for this awesome Follower Appreciation Giveaway, she's giving away to two winners a book of their choice from TBD.
Awesome right? And there are plenty of extra entries. :D
 
#2 & #3
 
 
One Year Blogoversary celebration over at Pen to Paper.
Everyday there is something she's giving away.
Right now she has Entice, A Witch in Love, and the first two books in the Parasol Protectorate series.
To enter these giveaways, click the following links:
 
 
So, what are you waiting for!
 
#4
 
 
As an end to summer, Tales of the Ravenous Reader is having a blowout giveaway
Here, you can win An awesome batch of signed, and unsigned hardcover books. AND MORE!!
Awesome huh?
Click here to enter:
 
#5:
 
Mostly YA Book Obsessed
 
Yep, it's another one. This time it's author Jessica Khoury, author of Origin, that's on the spotlight.
 
 
Awesome huh? Not only can you win this book, but the others in the Breathless Reads collection.
 
So, head on over to this link and enter.
 
 
 
Coming Soon!
 
 
 
Also check out the Sand Dollar Sales and the Sand Castle Bookstore for discounted books! All procedes go to my college fund.
 
Thank you!
 
 
Keep On Reading!
 
 
 
 
 

Sand Dollar Sale #2 & #3

 
Sand Dollar Sales is a way for book lovers to get discounted books at a discounted price.
The book range from Middle School to Adult. ARCs to Finished copies. All must go!
All the money goes to my college fund.
 
So I forgot to do last week's Sale, so I'm doing this weeks and lasts week together.
Exciting huh?
 
Both are paperbacks, YA contemporaries. Thus, both are $2.00 + shipping.
 
PLEASE TAKE THEM!!!
 
 
Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies Goodreads:
Walk the runway for all the world to see?
Nope. No way. NEVER.

At least, that's what I thought—until Aunt Doreen secretly entered me in the Miss HuskyPeach pageant for plus-sized girls. I couldn't do it, but I felt too guilty to quit.
There was only one way out...
This is the story of thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris, who used to be perfectly comfortable with her weight. She also used to think nothing would make eighth grade worse than super-popular, super-mean Lively Carson's persistent insults and attempts to steal her best friend. But along came the chance of being crowed a chubby teen queen, and suddenly it was clear: Things could be much worse. So Celeste crafts a plan—she'll sacrifice her chocolate cookie obsession, lose weight, and shrink right out of the competition.
What follows is a series of escapades both hilarious and horrifying, as our heroine tries to hold her head high both on the catwalk and off—and learns to show the world who she is from the inside out.
 
I liked it. It was a cute contemporary middle school book.
 
 
Chloe Miller and her fellow band members must sort out their lives as they become a hit in the local community. Accustomed only to being scorned and marginalized, Chloe suddenly has to decide who her real friends are, and who's just along for the ride. Now her generosity gets her in more trouble than ever. And all too soon after a talent scout from Nashville discovers the trio, their explosive musical ministry begins to encounter conflicts with family and school. Exhilarated yet frustrated, Chloe puts her dream in God's hand and prays for Him to work out the details.
I've never read this one, but it sounds really good. Contemporary usually is. :D
 
And an ARC!
 
In this action-packed thriller sequel to Envy, foreign exchange student Olivia Grant is stabbed to death after a party--and the prime suspect is her best friend. As twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan get pulled into the aftermath of this Amanda Knox-like crime, they realize nothing is what it seems. Could it be betrayal of the ultimate kind?
Betrayal features real-life crime-solving techniques, heart-stopping suspense, plenty of red herrings, hard-hitting ethical questions, and information about the Amanda Knox case that inspired the novel. As the crime unravels, so does the twins' past…and they must face off against a family member who may unexpectedly have carried out the worst betrayal of all.
 
PLEASE TAKE THEM!! IT'S MY COLLEGE FUND!!
 
Plus, my mom is sick of all the book I have, and is going to kill me.
 
Contact:
 
PLEASE TAKE THEM!!!
 
 

Cover Reveals! A Lot of Them



So, while I was checking my email, I came across several new covers that I wanted to share with you guys. I can honestly say that whoever comes up with these covers is a genius. :D
 
Here they are!
 
 
 
Naturals (The Lost Souls #2) by Tiffany Truitt
 
Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland
 
 
 
 
 
The Stars Fell Sideways by Cassandra Marshall
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ashes & Ice by Rochelle Maya Callen
 
 
 
 
 
The Modified by C.A. Kunz
 
(This is the one I'm most excited about. Does anyone have the second book?)
 
 
So, what do you think?
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, September 1, 2012

A Shell Full of Books #18

 
A Shell Full of Books is deicated to bring the bloggers and readers of the world books that have come out or are coming out and showing them off to you guys. :D
 
Okay, sorry I haven't been around much these past few weeks. School started and it's already crazy. Between work, school, homework, I just don't have time to read. And it sucks because I have too much to read. I'm going to try to do better, hopefully.
 
On to the books!
 
 
Won:
 
Wake (Watersong #1) by Amanda Hocking
(The first of four)
Thanks goes to Jenna from Making the Grade
 
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
(Honestly, this sounds more interesting than the book I'm currently reading. I might just skip Partials and go on to this one if I can't get to half way. That or read both at the same time.)
Thanks goes to Kristi from The Story Siren and Jeanne herself.
 
(This one I've wanted for awhile now. I think the main character's name is stupid, but the rest of the book sounds pretty good. I've heard the good and the bad about this book.)
Thanks goes to Asher from Paranormal Indulgence'
 
So, what did you get this week?
 
Keep On Reading!