Sunday, July 3, 2011

IMM and Blogaversery/Birthday Month/300 Follower Giveaway!!

 Hosted by The Story Siren!

This weeks IMM is short, because I have been on vacation since last Sunday so I do have books, but they are waiting for me at home, will do an IMM video next week. I did buy on my kindle Fins Are Forever (sequel to Forgive my Fins) super cute! Also some very exciting news, I am having a giveaway!!


So I am a little late on this because I planned to do this last month, in which I celebrated my birthday, my 6 months blogging, and reached 300 followers! So even though this is late, the reasons are still the same. I decided to share some of my BEA love and giveaway two books from BEA and two books (your choice) from the book depository!

BEA Books - US only!
Uncommon Criminals (A Heist Society Novel)Glow (Sky Chasers)

+ Two Books from The Book Depository (International)  = One Awesome Giveaway!!!
**** total value limit of $25

Depending on number of entrants and number of new followers, I will possibly be adding more books!!

Rules: 
  • Two separate giveaways, but you may enter for both
  • US Only for BEA Books
  • 13 + only
  • Runs until July 23, 2011 Midnight Eastern Time
  • See policies for general giveaway rules
  • Extra entries:  
    • Blog Follower (+5)
    • Tweet (+2): Enter to win some awesome books at http://www.thesecretlifeofanavidreader.com/p/giveaways.html @avidreader15
    • Follow @avidreader15 (blog twitter account) (+1), @avidyani (+1)



Friday, July 1, 2011

TGIF 7/1/11

TGIF is a feature over GReads to re-cap the week's posts  & to propose a question for all the followers.
 
Mr & Mrs: Who are your favorite book couples

I really tried to pick my favorite book couples of all time, but I am not going to lie, the books I am currently reading or have read recently have definitely affected my choices. They are fresh in my mind after all. I also noticed, a lot of them come from series because the relationship builds so much, but I tried to include some non-series. FYI: there is a difference between favorite book couples and literary crushes in which I wish I was the girl in the couple.

As in my first choice couple, Edward and Bella from Twilight. While Edward is definitely one of my bookish crushes, I really love Bella and Edward as a couple. Even if I wasn't re-reading Twilight, they would be my number one choice. There is something about their old souls and their passionate "I can't live without you" type of love.

Coming in at a close second, would be the couples of Shiver, Sam and Grace & Isabel and Cole, especially after reading Forever. Sam and Grace have that same type of all consuming love, and are so comfortable with each other, while Isabel and Cole fight being close to another person, but are so right for each other and they can't even see it.

Other couples I LOVE together:

(Stand-Alone) Favorite Book Couples
Compared to above, these couples don't start off all lovey-dovey, actually most of these have those love/hate relationships, but when together you can't help but LOVE them.

  1. Bianca and Wesley... The DUFF: (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)
  2. Meg and John... Going Too Far
  3. Will and Kate... Perfect You
  4. Samantha and Logan... All's Fair in Love, War, and High School
  5. Jake and Cordelia... Getting Lost with Boys 
I really have so many more favorites than this. And I know favorites usually means a specific smaller set/group, but all these couples are favorites for different reasons and just making this list makes me want to jump into their stories and feel the love all over again <3

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Book Review : Possession

Book: Possession
Author: Elana Johnson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: June 7, 2011
Pages: 416
Source: GalleyGrab
Date Read: May 21, 2011

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Summary Taken from Goodreads
Yani's Review:
I have talked and talked and talked to others about this book, and yet I still don't know how I feel about it. So I will just write you the four notes I took while reading and explain them:

ONE   "No explanation of the world yet, but reminds me of Uglies series.... I like how she doesn't care about getting in trouble"

So this note came after the first couple of pages where I still wasn't getting what the world was about. What is this dystopian book about? What is the government limiting or controlling? I had lots of questions like this in the beginning because it pretty much jumps into the action. I actually really liked that about the story, it moved really quickly and a lot of things happened over the course of the book. I can see many authors even dividing the book into two or three parts with how much is learned and how many things happen.

Second part consists of Vi and her badass-ness. Love those type of female leads.

TWO "Contradictions: a land called freedom, bad, and good"

So it seems like this book is alot about labels and how they never really encopass things completely. Freedom wasn't free. Badies weren't all bad. Goodies aren't all good.

THREE "I'm not understanding this, but enjoying the ride."

So this is where I sort of drop from LOVED it to REALLY LIKED IT. The book jumps alot, from one train of thought to another, from on action to another, from one scene to another. Transitions where weird, trains of thoughts where hard to follow and at one point I was COMPLETELY lost. However, that didn't stop me from reading. Not once.

FOUR "Jag"
Simple as that note is, it holds a lot of power with me. I loved loved loved Jag and his relationship with Vi. They really got one another, and I love how their story grew. 
SPOILER-ISH SIDE NOTE (highlight to read): There is no note for this last part but I want to warn before you go into the story... the ending is shocking, and there is no sequel planned. And while I don't need all my endings to be cookie cutter happy, I really wish this one could have been. But I get it, you don't always win.
My Review in a Tweet: I love the idea of this book more than the execution, still I could not put it down. You could say I was Possessed.
Ratings:
Plot: 4/5
Writing Style: 3/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Characters: 5/5

Similar Titles:
MatchedDeliriumUglies (The Uglies)
Other Reviews:

Monday, June 27, 2011

Blog Tour : Songbird


I don't know if you guys have heard, but there is this little book called Songbird that I received recently on a book tour and WOW. You can find my review here or by clicking Songbird tag below. It's the 1st stop of the Songbird Book TeenBookScene Tour and Angela has come by the blog to talk a little about herself and her projects. Find Angela on Twitter!
I am a Canadian transplant, living and working in the US who, after years of procrastination, started writing and hasn't stopped since. Not an easy task considering I have a husband and young daughter, and also work full time as an elementary school teacher.

When I first started writing, I had no idea how to approach it, and honestly I still don't. Every writer I talk to starts differently. For me that means sitting down at the computer and typing as it comes to me. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. My first novel is still under the revision process thanks to my unplanned approach. Songbird is actually the second novel I wrote and most of it was done in a month during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Finishing Songbird and then the revising and editing took a bit longer, but this story just flowed for me much better than my other novel.

With Songbird finally complete, and my first novel temporarily shelved due to revision issues, I am working on Graced, A Trilogy. The Graced trilogy follows three sisters, Phoebe, Chloe, and Lilly as they struggle to find the purpose of the special gifts they've been graced with: truth telling, prophecy, and healing. The first book, Liar, is Phoebe's story, followed by Lilly's book Heal Me, and will conclude with Witness, Chloe's tale.

Monday, June 27: Yani at The Secret Life of an Avid Reader
Tuesday, June 28: Ashley B at Basically Amazing Books
Wednesday, June 29: Amber at Down The Rabbit Hole
Thursday, June 30: Britta at I Like These Books
Friday, July 1: Cyndi at Dog-Eared & Bookmarked

Monday, July 4: Bailey at IB Book Blogging
Tuesday, July 5: Kai at Amaterasu Reads
Wednesday, July 6: Reagan at Shadow Star Blog
Thursday, July 7: Patricia at Patricia’s Particularity
Friday, July 8: Heather at Proud Book Nerd

Monday, July 11: Bailey at IB Book Blogging
Tuesday, July 12: Crystal at My Reading Room
Wednesday, July 13: Amber at Down the Rabbit Hole
Thursday, July 14: Corrine at Lost For Words
Friday, July 15: Patricia at Patricia’s Particularity

Monday, July 18: Jen D at What’s on the Bookshelf?
Tuesday, July 19: Hannah at Paperback Treasures
Wednesday, July 20: Heidi at YA Bibliophile
Thursday, July 21: Britta at I Like These Books
Friday, July 22: Lilibeth at Chica Reader

Book Review : Songbird

By: Angela Fristoe
Publisher: Little Prince Publishing
Pages: 208
Source: TeenBookScene Tour

There are defining moments in life when everything changes. For Dani Mays, it was the day she witnessed her father kill her brother. Now seventeen years-old, she still hasn't put it behind her.

After Jace's death, she bounced between her alcoholic mother and foster homes, until she found a permanent place. And a reason to stay: Reece Tyler He's her best friend, yet Dani wants more from Reece.

Faced with possibly losing Reece, Dani struggles to define his place in her life and escape the memories of her brother's death and the influence it has over her choices. Even as she weaves the pieces of her heart back together, the past becomes more than a memory when a former foster brother reappears and Dani begins receiving threatening phone calls.

Summary Taken from Goodreads
Yani's Mini-Review:
I received this book as part of a book tour and I am so glad I signed up for it. This book has one of the most emotional starts to a book I have ever read. Literally my first note about the book was "I was crying by page 4." Dani is someone that's been through a lot in life, she carries all this emotional baggage and you can tell it affects her every day. I really loved this part of the story.

The story is told in the present with past memories seeping in between. I loved the style of it and I loved the emotional past memories and it shows how Dani has grown because of it.

What I didn't like much was how the story progresses. I felt Angela added more and more for Dani to deal with, and while I can see what she was trying to do, I feel like the story got a little bombarded and diluted from what should have been the main focus. While I did love Dani's relationship with Reece (friendship to love), I wanted to hit them sometimes when they couldn't see what was right in front of them!

I have no quotes to give on this one, it's an adventure you will have to discover on your own...
My Review in a Tweet: Heart wrenching, emotional, and deals with so many issues. You are instantly inside Dani's mind and hope that things will work out for that songbird.

Ratings:
Plot: 4/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Characters: 4/5


Angela Fristoe is a debut novelist with Little Prince Publishing and is gearing up for the release of her first YA Romance, Songbird. She was the winner, and double finalist, in the Romance category of The Strongest Start Contest 2010 hosted by The Next Big Writer. When not writing, she teaches and spends time with her family.

ebook $2.99
print $8.99
ISBN: 978-0615470491


Angela's Website & Blog
Songbird Website
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