Cesya MaRae Cuono's Blog, page 25

Gobble-icious!

Today I'm thankful for all those who support me in everything I do.

So this year for Thanksgiving my mom decided we should go out for dinner instead of staying in. It's understandable considering last year at this time my grandmother was still with us. It's weird celebrating a holiday with both grandparents, who you lived with since you were six, are now both gone. January 15, 2009
How cute were they? This was one of the last pictures taken with both of them. Seven months later my grandfather passed away from prostate cancer. I definitely miss them A LOT but all the crying will be done before dinner (or right now as I'm typing this). Anyway, I had to get this post out. Everyone who is celebrating this day, Happy Thanksgiving! Those of you who are not, Happy Thirsty Thursday! Be safe and have a wonderful day!

Winner!

So remember when I posted that giveaway for a signed copy of The Poison Diaries? Well, I have a winner! Round of applauds please!
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Christina Perilli
Christina, if you'd please email so I can tell you how to get your copy that'd be muchly appreciated! Congratulations again!! You won't be disappointed in the book!

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!

So I've been dying to do this alllllll week! The anticipation was killing me and now, finally, I'm able to make this post live. Okay, not going to lie, I've had this post scheduled to go live since Monday. Plus, right now I'm currently sitting in the movie theater axiously waiting for Breaking Dawn to start. So, the reason for this blog post. MY COVER REVEAL FOR MY SECOND BOOK IN THE ELEMENTAL SERIES!!! Battle Scars. So without further interruptions . . . . . . . . .

How do you carry on fighting for your family when you're left scarred and broken? When your dreams are plagued by nightmares, how do you strengthen the armor needed to protect yourself again? Callie's been defeated by the loss of her entire family. With the help of old and new friends, will she build her battle armor up and fight the evil hands of the Demons who threaten to destroy her new home? Or will her battle scars leave her too broken and empty


Isn't it GORGEOUS?! I'm so in love! Release date is set for Summer 2012. What do you think of it?

Waiting on Wednesday: Loss (Riders of the Apocalypse #3) by Jackie Morse Kessler

Waiting on Wednesday "Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. My Pick:  Loss (Riders of the Apocalypse #3) Author: Jackie Morse KesslerReading Level: YARelease Date: March 20, 2012 Available: Amazon / The Book Depository /Barnes & Noble  Summary (from goodreads):  Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. But things change drastically when Death tells Billy he must stand in as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now armed with a Bow that allows him to strike with disease from a distance, Billy lashes out at his tormentors...and accidentally causes an outbreak of meningitis. Horrified by his actions, Billy begs Death to take back the Bow. For that to happen, says Death, Billy must track down the real White Rider—who is lost in his memories.

In his search, Billy travels through White Rider's life: from ancient Phrygia, where the man called King Mita agrees to wear the White Rider's Crown, to Sherwood Forest, where Pestilence figures out how to cheat Death; from the docks of Alexandria, where cartons of infested grain are being packed onto a ship that will carry the plague, to the Children's Crusade in France—all the way to what may be the end of the world. When Billy finally finds the White Rider, the teen convinces the man to return to the real world.

But now the insane White Rider plans to unleash something awful on humanity—something that could make the Black Death look like a summer cold. Billy has a choice: he can live his life and pretend he doesn't know what's coming, or he can challenge the White Rider for his Crown. Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?
 My thoughts: Jackie's spin on the four Rider's is awesome! I found the first two books at Walmart awhile back and bought them. Loved them! I can't wait to read about Pestilence this time around!  

Review: Everblue (Mer Tales #1) by Brenda Pandos

Website: http://www.brendapandos.blogspot.com
Unedited ARC, 307 pages
Published July 30th 2011 by Obsidian Mountain Publishing
ISBN13: 9780982903391

(Goodreads)Summary:
She wanted her life to change... he wanted his to stay the same.
Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them.
Ashlyn is about to discover what she'd thought to be true her whole life, wasn't, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever. 
Review:
This is the first mermaid book I've ever read. When I first saw this book added to Brenda's books on Goodreads, my gut told me I needed this book. I'm glad I listened to it. 
The very first thing I loved about Everblue was the cover. I mean, look at it! It's stunning! Ashlyn reminds me of Ariel (The Little Mermaid) except with bountiful red curls. The second thing I loved about Everblue was the two POVs: Ashlyn's and Fin's. I enjoyed reading both sides of their story, especially Fin's. We get to dive—literally—into the depths of his actual life. (Fun little fact for everyone: When I was little, I used to pretend I was a mermaid while swimming in my pool. I mean how AWESOME would that be?!) Anyway, I found myself scowling at my book when Ash's and Fin's new love interest come along. Uh, NO, that can't happen because Ash and Fin totally need to be together! I just wasn't in love with the idea of them with someone else. No thanks. 
Some intense things go on, which I'm not going to mention because I'm leaving this review spoiler-free, and they'll leave you gasping for the next page. I couldn't put the book down and read well into the night and most definitely strained my eyes trying to read under the dim little reading light I have yet to replace.
The ending is a huge WHOA ending. My heart already aches for the next book, Evergreen. It can't come out soon enough. 5 stars all around! 
 

COVER REVEAL: Just For Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

As I was reading through my emails--which consist of blogger updates, for the most part--I came across Tera Lynn Childs's blog update with her newly released cover for Just For Fins and I just had to share it!

Just For FinsTera Lynn ChildsHardcover, 272 pagesJuly 3, 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books

 I'll be completely honest, I haven't read the Fins series yet but I do have the ebooks. I just adore this cover. It's stunning! Even if I saw this picture without the title, I'd know it was mermaids because of the colors. I may have to buy the physical copies of this series!

What are your thoughts on the cover for the third book?

Waiting on Wednesday: Destined by Jessie Harrell

Waiting on Wednesday "Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
My Pick:   Destined Author: Jessie Harrell Reading Level: YA Release Date: November 17, 2011 Available: Amazon / The Book Depository
Summary (from goodreads): When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

Destined is a fresh and heartachingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Psyche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell.
My thoughts: I LOVE Greek mythology! This book sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it!

The Poison Diaries: Nightshade Competition

Hey everyone! So I've been lucky enought to get a chance to review a copy of The Poison Diaries: Nightshade which will be up in the next couple weeks. But I have something awesome for you all. I'm holding a competition on my blog for a chance to win a signed copy of the book. Below are three linkable images and some rules for each. I hope you all participate in this competition! Nightshade seems like an awesome book!

For a chance of winning the entrants need to engage with their Twitter, Facebook and the Poison Diaries website. Below are the links for you!


TWITTER--Send a tweet to @poisondiaries saying 'signed copy' and my blog name



FACEBOOK--Go and 'like' the Poison Diaries Facebook fan page and leave a comment saying 'signed copy' with my blog name.



WEBSITE--Enter the Poison Diaries website, find the plant Arum Maculstum, add it to the 'my poison diary' and share it via Twitter, including the name of my

GOODREADS COVERS

So as I was wandering through Goodreads looking for new and upcoming books I want on my TBR list when I stumbled upon two covers that look amazing, IMO. The Fallen series by Lauren Kate. I haven't seen any cover reveals for these yet but I may not have been paying close enough attention. The following covers I'm going to post are for Rapture (Fallen #4) and Fallen in Love (Fallen Shorts #3.5)


I'm absolutely in love with these covers! I'm a little behind on the Fallen series because I have so many other books to read first but I LOVE that Luce has a white dress on in Rapture. For me, I think that's a good sign for her and Daniel, but I might be wrong.
What do you think of the covers?

My Bookworm Santa!

Michelle from Book Briefs and Bree from The Magic Attic have come together to host My Bookworm Santa for the bookworms out there! The following info is via their blogs:

My Bookworm Santa is the book blogger's version of 'Secret Santa.' So you sign up via the form below, and we'll pair you up with another random entrant. If you're only willing to ship to America, we'll pair you up with someone from America.(remember though, that the Book Depository ships free to most countries. This is a good way to meet some international book bloggers) We'll send their wishlist and address to you, and your wishlist and address to them. Then, before December 10th, we'll ask that you purchase a book from the wishlist we sent over, and send the book to your randomly selected blogger. And on Christmas (December 25th), you'll reveal yourself to the other person, and hopefully make new friends :) Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, you're more than welcome to join us.

We'll also be having a small, separate giveaway during the sign-up period. If you tweet about this event, blog about this event, or follow our blogs via GCF, and grab the event button then you'll earn extra entries. Signing up for our My Bookworm Santa event earns you one point. At the end of the sign-up period, we'll randomly choose two participants (international people are more than welcome), and send them over one book from their wishlist.


Setting up a blog post about the event is a great way to get more named referrals. Each person that names you as a referral will get you an extra entry into the contest.


Another part of my Bookworm Santa is the "open wish list" form. Please only sign up on this separate form if you have already signed up to participate in the program. The additional form will be used for people to post their wish lists for everyone to see. This way, if anyone wants to send some additional books to spread the holiday cheer, you can browse the form and fulfill someone's holiday wish!



Rules, Terms and Conditions:


If you sign up for this event, you're PROMISING us that you will, no matter what, fulfill your end of the agreement and send over a book to the blogger. If you have any problems, please come talk to one of us.International people are more than welcome to join :)Sign-ups close at the beginning of DecemberPlease do not reveal yourself to your assigned blogger until after December 25thYou MUST send over a book before December 10th so that it can arrive to the blogger's house in time for, or a little after Christmas on December 25th.The book MUST be in in perfect condition, and listed in your assigned blogger's wishlist.This isn't created as a way to 'get new books.' Our goal through this is to help create new friends.Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, you're more than welcome to join us :)You can sign up through THIS FORM. The form will also be below. Thanks,
Michelle and Bree