Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 90

ARC Review: “Otherkin” by Nina Berry

Otherkin (Otherkin #1) by Nina Berry (Click for Goodreads)

Sixteen-year-old Desdemona Gray doesn’t even bother with crushes on cute boys now that she’s forced to wear a hard plastic back brace all day.  What guy would want to literally have to knock on a girl to be let in?  So she squashes down every impossible desire until an uber-awkward brush with a boy brings out all her frustration and she changes…into a tiger.  In that bewildering moment, she is captured by Ximon, the leader of a fanatical group hell-bent on wiping out the five remaining tribes of shape-shifters, known as the otherkin. 

With help from a handsome, mysterious fellow captive named Caleb, she escapes and goes on the run, finding allies and learning the truth behind the legends of wizards and were-creatures.  Then Ximon goes too far, and Dez must tap into all her buried desires to find her inner tiger and save herself, her new friends, and the boy she loves.

4 1/2 stars

This review is of an ARC received from NetGalley. You can get a copy for yourself July 31st, 2012.

I’m going to be perfectly honest: I did not go into this book with high expectations. The first book I ever requested from NetGalley was a shifter book so bad I couldn’t finish it. I haven’t read anything about shifters regularly since … the Animorphs when I was about 12. BUT, this story has an awesome cover with a tiger on the front so how COULDN’T I request it?

And I’m so happy I did.

Just the first chapter is literally explosive. You instantly get a feel for Dez, how she feels about herself AND get a bunch of action–action that, by the way, rarely ever stops for a good while. The perimeters of the novel are pretty quickly established, but you aren’t hit over the head with exposition which is fantastic. In fact, the amount of info-learning but not info-dumping was excellent throughout the novel, even though the mythology was very unique and slightly confusing in places. I understood the gist of it and was never bogged down in trying to understand, which is a big plus for me, Ms. Short Attention Span.

However, about a fourth of the way book, the plotline twisted in such a way that I deflated and moaned like I was a hot air balloon stabbed through the heart. Caleb tells Dez that there is a place they can be safe, and guess where it is?

A school. A shifter school. A freaking school.

Schools feel like such a cliché these days that I CANNOT stand them when they happened. This is also how that first shifter novel I read really rolled over and died. I had to stop reading because I was so worried this book was also going to dip into horribleness.

But it DIDN’T.

I kept reading and almost couldn’t believe it. Berry managed to make it readable, the characters not too much of clichés and really make it feel REAL. The tension and then camaraderie between the classmates came right out of the pages. It really set up the ending well, and–most importantly–it was READABLE. I can be nasty when a book drops into clichés I hate, so I fully expected to start hating everything. But instead, i loved it. I was shocked!

The end brought back that rolling action I loved in the beginning. The cooperation between all the shifters and the descriptions were absolutely fantastic. The end of the end seemed to almost be anticlimactic and flat after all that action, though it did make sense. The pacing of the book, for the most part, however, was fast, which I love. There were never many points where I felt I could put the book down.

But about that  docked star: A little bit of it is the ending, but not a lot of it. Most of it came from Dez and Caleb’s relationship. I hate insta-love. I will forever and always dock stars for insta-love. The only reason it wasn’t a full star was because Dez and Caleb weren’t–shockingly and fantastically–the center point of the novel. It was more about action and information than their romance. However, when you’ve only known each other for less than a month and have kissed only once, there is no way multiple conversations about seeing Dez naked don’t come off as creepy. Caleb’s kind of buzzed-all-the-time attitude didn’t help matters. Given that I loved Dez as a character, I kept screaming ABORT, ABANDON SHIP! But of course she didn’t. They’ve found eternal insta-love.

All in all, however, this book turned into a favorite for me. I loved the descriptions, the history, and the pacing. The action was fantastic, and I was ridiculously impressed at how Berry wrote in a school setting that I didn’t hate the guts of and in fact really enjoyed. For once, there was romance for the main character that wasn’t the driving force of the story, so I even forgave the insta-love a little bit. If you love shifter books, GET THIS NOW. Even if you don’t love shifter books and are looking for something new–like I was–I RECOMMEND IT. July 31st, folks, preorder now!

The second book in the Otherkin series, Othermoon, is slated for a February 2013 release date.

Waiting on Wednesday #15

Waiting on Wednesday is a feature hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Title: Altered

Author: Jennifer Rush

Expected Publication Date: January 2, 2013

Summary from Goodreads: When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

ARC Review: “Wilde’s Army” by Krystal Wade

Wilde’s Army (Darkness Falls #2) by Krystal Wade

Goodreads | Amazon

Hello, Katriona.”

Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air. The moment when concern for her missing sister spirals out of control, all thoughts of trust are pushed aside and she finds herself trapped by the daemon tricks Perth warned her of.

However, rescuing those she loves is only half the problem.

Kate still must get to Willow Falls, unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, her ability to play by the gods’ rules is tested.

How will she make allies when the world appears stacked against her? And will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?

3 stars

This review is of an ARC received from NetGalley. You can get a copy for yourself on July 4, 2012.

I don’t know how many of you saw my review of Darkness Falls #1, Wilde’s Fire, but it was … a little less than complimentary. Giving the book the benefit of the doubt, however, I realized that a lot of the reason I headdesked into next Tuesday while reading it was my own jaded opinion–and Wade certainly had potential to write some great action scenes. Crossing my fingers, I went ahead and requested the next one from NetGalley.

And instantly screeched to a halt.

Wilde’s Army begins a little bit after the events of Wilde’s Fire, which is nothing new. However, it starts after EVERYONE BUT KATE AND PERTH have been ABDUCTED BY THE BAD GUYS.

Picture me squawking ‘What? What? WHAT?’ and flapping my arms around like a demented chicken, and you have my reaction to this.

Besides it being an utterly unsubtle plot convention to get Perth and Kate to like each other, it’s also done without any forewarning or real explanation. I was not happy, at all. I almost stopped reading right there.

But I didn’t, because I am a glutton for punishment.

And that ended up being a good thing.

See, remember how I wanted more action in Wilde’s Fire? Well, I GOT THAT in Wilde’s Army. I got it by the BUCKET FULLS. Kate and Perth’s rescue attempt begins the first of MANY battle and magic-weilding scenes. I thought Wade could rock those, and I was right. The book barely stopped moving right up until the end, which made me very happy.

Kate and Arland are still over the top as ever, especially come the time when her mom starts pushing her 18 year old daughter to marry the guy. Having just finished reading Rapture by Lauren Kate, I’d rather had my fill of overdone romance, but at least it wasn’t as much of a focus this time. I was also probably too gleeful about how Kate and Perth had to pretend to be in love for a while and Arland was nowhere to be found, which was a nice switch.

The ending was also nicely done, though I was confused by how easily everything worked out. It made vague sense, so I let it slide for the most part. Most confusing was how, for the whole book, Kate was demanding an Army and then gets everyone to fight for her, but is then like “Whoops, sorry, only need a few of you!” The book is titled Wilde’s Army, for goodness sake. But maybe that’s just me being nitpicky…

All in all, I found Wilde’s Army to be a marked improvement on Wilde’s Fire. The romance wasn’t as focused on, there was a ton more action and the characterization was mildly better. I’m glad I stuck with Wilde’s Fire and then requested this one. Wade didn’t disappoint!

ARC Review: “Pushing the Limits” by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Goodreads | Amazon

So wrong for each other…and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

4.5 stars

This review is of an ARC received from NetGalley and HarlequinTeen. You can get a copy for yourself July 24, 2012.

I should probably mention that I don’t usually read contemps. I mean, with how I feel about romance and insta-love and yadda yadda, I’d at least like to have some fantastical elements to keep the action going so *I* can keep going. However, Pushing the Limits?

This I finished in one night. And then promptly added to my Goodreads favorites shelf. And it was my brother’s 16 birthday to boot.

The thing about this book is that it’s not JUST about romance. The issues that Echo is dealing with (those scares came from something her mother was involved in, she’s worried she’s bipolar AND her father is expecting a baby with the twenty-something woman he replaced her mother with. Who was once Echo’s babysitter, no less.) and the issues that Noah are dealing with (he’s in the foster system, separated from his two younger brothers, trying to reunite his family) are REAL. They are important. They are powerful. And, hey, if they happen to fall in love on the way, that’s cool too.

Originally, I wasn’t very happy with Echo. She was letting her father and everyone else really control her life and molding her into something she really didn’t want to be. The important thing, though, is that this is just another part of the story. McGarry recognizes the problem and then makes sure Echo DEALS with it instead of being a simpering, inactive female lead the whole time.

Noah, too, started out as your typical, cliché, slacker-pot smoker. Then you add the layer of his parents death and his brothers and suddenly he, too, becomes a three-dimensional character. I’ve enjoyed contemps with male leads who were just the typical, but Noah brought this book to a whole other level.

Sure, to like this book, you’ve got to like drama. You have to be cool with a lot of crying, teenage freaking out and–yes–some teenage school drama. But what I loved is that, for once, even the school drama really got me. After all, I can only imagine how much courage it took for Echo to walk into the cafeteria of her school with her scars bared.

In points, it does get a bit preachy, but I let it slide. I was actually shocked at how it was NOAH’s ending scene with his brothers that made me tear up a little bit. Usually I empathize with the girl because the guy doesn’t really have much going for him. I loved the switch.

Pushing the Limits was almost like a YA Nicholas Sparks book. Only better, because it had a happy ending. It was a book with a message that KNEW it had a message, but I also could still feel the power coming off the pages. I am way too much excited for the companion novel McGarry is writing, and this one isn’t even out yet.

The bottom line: If you are a contemporary YA lover, you NEED to read this. Even if you aren’t, like me, I absolutely recommend that you give this a try.

Author Interview + Giveaway: “Few Are Angels” by Inger Iversen

Welcome to Author Inger Iversen!

Inger Iversen was born in 1982 to Anne and Kaii Iversen. She lives in Virginia Beach with her overweight lap cat, Max and her tree hugging boyfriend Joshua. She spends 90 percent of her time in Barnes and Noble and the other ten pretending not to want to be in Barnes and Noble.

Interview:

What inspired you to become a writer?

When I was younger I would read with my aunt and mother, but I was always changing the endings and writing my own. When I was a teenage my diary read like a book and I knew that I wanted to write but I went to college and majored in History instead.

In one sentence, why should someone read your book?

So, they can watch Ella and Kale discover what sacrifices must be made for love.

The cover of your book is absolutely gorgeous! Talk to me a little about the cover art.

Oh, I struggled to find the perfect artist to create my cover and failed quite a few times. I found that some artist charge $750 just for the cover art and that is not including the fonts, back and spine. I actually shed a few tears over my failure until one day someone sent me an email about Deviant Art. That was when I came across a photo called “I Found My Light” and I said, “There is Ella.” Mind you, Few Are Angels was already finished and with my editor at that point. The artist Ana Fagarazzi had created my character so perfectly that I had to have that picture. Two weeks later I found Kale from the same artist. Her prices are so amazing that I am using her art for books two, three and a short story as well.

When you’re writing, do you prefer silence or do some of your characters have soundtracks? Or do you do something completely different?

I have a soundtrack for each book and even some chapters have their own soundtrack. I just recently found this group called Teams vs Star Slinger on YouTube and I have had two of their songs on repeat for the last two days. Music is a great motivator for me while writing.

Can you see yourself in any of your characters?

I tried not to have many similarities with my characters. I wanted to create new characters that the reader as well as myself could watch grow, but Ella and I do have a couple of things in common.

So this is a first in a series, where are you in the stages of the next book? Any teasers?

I will finish book 2, Awakened in July, but when I say finish I mean it will be ready from my first round of edits and they usually take a month or two. I plan to release Awakened late 2012 or very early 2013. This is a scene from Awakened and I have introduced a few new characters.

A scene with Ana and Darke “Raul” two new characters in the Few Are Angels Trilogy

She turned to me and smiled; soft and sweet her lips inched up revealing her stunning but deadly fangs. She plucked two flowers from the bush without even facing it and then moved to stand next to me. She reached out and took my hand gently placing the butter colored bud in my palm; my honey colored skin was a warm contrast to her pale alabaster skin. I looked at it and then to her my brow furrowed.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” She asked not once taking her eyes off of mine.

“Exquisite.” I said, but not about the flower. Anastaise’s eyes sparkled in the moon light and her silky hair ruffled and swayed in with the chilling winter breeze. She looked away coquettishly no doubt understanding that my comment had been about her beauty and I chuckled. Though she was trapped in the body of an eighteen year old, she was more than 150 years old. She removed her hands from mine and placed them at her side.

“Do you know why I love this plant Raul?” She asked sending a jolt throughout my system by using my true name. I glanced away from her and into my hand again at the yellow flower that she had placed there. I couldn’t look at her when she used that name—l was not that man anymore.

“Look at me.” She demanded softly and I complied. “I love this plant because even in the winter it blooms, taking away some of the cold gloom of winter.” Anastaise closed my hand and tightened hers around mine. “Its bloom is so small that from far away they look like yellow clouds.” She giggled at her words as she continued to close my hand using her Chorý strength to crush my fingers together. The pain was intense but manageable and all I could do was stare at her in wonder even as I heard the crunch of my bones. She’d never shown her strength before and I was amazed by it. I fought against her crushing grasp not allowing the little yellow bud to be crushed my hands. I was much older and stronger than she, so it was easy to avoid crushing the delicate bloom.  “Sometimes I wonder if our kind is meant to live, you know.” Confused by her statement I only stared at her waiting for an explanation. She opened my crumpled hand and stared at the bloom, it was untouched, delicate and whole in the middle of my palm. “You protected it Raul, you didn’t let harm come to it.” She said quietly. I still didn’t speak I simply gazed into her sad eyes. “But it will still die.” She whispered. “It didn’t stand a chance from the moment I plucked it from its home and placed it into your hand. You cannot stop its death.” She said quietly as a lone tear slid down her beautiful pale face.

When you aren’t writing, what kind of stuff do you read? Any favorite titles you think everyone should read?

I love the Pace series by Shelena Shorts, The Grace series by S.L. Naeole and the Kissed by an Angel series by Elizabeth Chandler. All of those are excellent series to check out.

When you need to do something that doesn’t involve books or writing, what do you like to do?

When I need a break I enjoy playing PlayStation and spending time with my loved ones. Oh, yea and True Blood—Team Alcide :]

What’s the better YA trend: vampires, angels or mermaids?

I will always be a fan of vampires and angels are a close second!

What’s the last book you read? Any books out there that you’re dying to be released?

The last book I read was The Iron Daughter, I had never read a book about the Fey before and I love this series. I am so behind on new releases right now, but I will definitely read Shelena Shorts new book The Syndicate.

Few Are Angels

Goodreads | Amazon

After a fatal hit and run accident, Ella Monroe fears that she’s lost more than her beloved parents. Horrifying visions of a past life and a disturbing voice in her head have psychiatric professionals convinced that she’s lost her sanity as well. But when Kale–a dark and handsome stranger with a mysterious past–reveals the true meaning of her visions and the tremendous power she wields through them, Ella must come to terms with the devastating truths of her own past, while eluding an ancient Dark Prince who seeks to control not only her future, but all of mankind’s, by means of abilities that Ella is only beginning to understand.

Enter the shrouded world of an age old battle between an ancient race known as the Immortals and their bitter enemy Laurent, the so-called Dark Prince, who commands an army of half-breed vampires known as Chorý. Both sides have been desperately searching for the prophesied emergence of the Arc, a clairvoyant with unparalleled power to recall the past and a soothsayer with clear vision into the future.

The Council of Immortals has sworn to protect the Arc, whom they have identified as young Ella Monroe, a college freshman from Virginia living quietly and unaware of her powers or her past. But a renegade Chorý has other plans for the protection of a girl he has loved through the ages. Can Kale convince Ella of who she is, what she is destined to become, and what he once meant to her? Is he truly the best protector to shield the world from the devastating misuse of her powers that Laurent is bent on controlling? Or will the forbidden love they share and Kale’s cursed condition as a retched and hated Chorý be used against them both?

This paranormal romance told from the heroine’s perspective builds in intensity and intrigue to a finale you won’t see coming. Heart pounding action mixed with heartwarming friendships and heartbreaking romance will leave you breathless and begging for more.

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

Inger Iversen is giving away TWO ebooks of Few are Angels, either in Kindle or Nook form. This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL and runs until July 6th. Interested? Well then click HERE to enter!

Blog Tour: “Caterpillar” by Kate Oliver – Review + Giveaway!

Caterpillar  (The Metamorphosis Trilogy #1) by Kate Oliver

Goodreads | Amazon

In a small college town in northern California, a lonely young man is working himself to the bone to solve a sixty-year-old problem … a stranger with a will of iron and eyes the color of ice is searching for someone he can’t identify … and a girl who loves plants is about to grow roots of her own.

When Cara Gallagher’s parents are transferred overseas again, she’s off to spend her senior year of high school living with her sister, a graduate student at the famed McNair University. Cara, a girl with a passion for science and an indifference to people, hopes this move will be her first step in claiming the independence she craves. Cara has her future planned down to the letter: her college, her major, her career.

Then she saves Will Mallory’s life, and both of their futures are completely rewritten.

The last years of Will’s life have been spent shifting from one identity to the next, dodging the FBI, and trying desperately to find a way home. But Will’s home is forty-four light years away, and to reach it he’ll have to outwit the man who’s hunting him–and leave behind the only love he’s ever known.

3 1/2 stars

Some people put down a book if, only a couple of chapters in, the book isn’t hooking them. I am not one of those people. I will stick with books until the absolute end, if only to be continuously horrified. Sometimes, I’m even excited I did.

This was one of those times.

The beginning of the book might put readers who are quick to judge off, because Cara does not begin the novel out as a likeable character at all. She sounds like one of those snotty, stuck up teens for whom everything is horrible.

Once Cara gets to hanging out with her sister, Liv, for a while–and, of course, meets Will–she starts to open up and becomes a heck of a lot more interesting AND likeable. Of course, that is replaced by the insta-love that, to be fair, I knew was coming, but ah well. It’s more often than not these days, so it shouldn’t shock anyone. At least there isn’t a love triangle.

I struggled with the beginning first with Cara, and then with the romance between Will and Cara. Well, besides the fact that they actually go on more than one date, which was absolutely fantastic. That’s right, you heard me, DATES. Like they were actually trying to have a real relationship or something.

This novel can actually be separated into two halves: the first half, with ALL of the romance, and the second half with a great deal of action. The first 1/2, 2/3 of the book are actually pretty slow, focusing on Will and Cara falling in love and being in love and dealing with the fact that Will is an alien and needs to go home but they love each other and ohmygod. To be perfectly honest, these two eventually won me over and made me melt just a little bit. I’m a sucker for romance when it’s done at least halfway right, and this is one of those times.

The second half was actually a lot more exciting than I thought it was going to be. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but this chain reaction gets set off with one little thing and then all of a sudden there is a car chase, bullets and explosions. I certainly wasn’t expecting THAT kind of action. Why?

The writing in this book.

This is both were I found love and issue. See, Oliver writes a lot “slower” than many other YA books. What that means is that her writing is more lyrical, more descriptive, and less BOOM-BANG-BAM. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I enjoyed the change. In places, her descriptions and musings were spectacularly gorgeous. My issue was the constant POV change. Cara is the lead, switching back and forth a few times with Will’s journal entries. Then there is the whole section were Cara is MIA and Will is pretending to be her. While it was awesomely epic to read about him being a girl, it completely threw me for a loop, especially because after that Cara came back for a long while, solo, and then it was Will again at the end. I’m tricky when it comes to POV switches. I like them, but there has to be a logical sequence to them. There wasn’t that in this book.

All and all, I found Caterpillar to be a wonderfully sweet book. It was the sweetest teen romance I’d read in ages, and one of the first this year that didn’t completely have me headdesking over insta-love, cliché stupidity. Though technically Will is an alien, the fantasy trappings are few and far between, with most of the focus being on the romance. I’d absolutely recommend this if you were looking for a cute teen romance with some fantasy trappings that let’s the romance really speak for itself. There is insta-love in the beginning, but they won me over and that is HARD to do.

Clearly, you guys need to enter the giveaway I’m holding for an e-copy so you can see for yourself, so click HERE. This is INTERNATIONAL. Oh, and did I mention there are a bunch of other blogs reviewing, interviewing and hosting giveaways as well? Because there are. Click HERE for that list!

Waiting on Wednesday #14

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Endlessly

Author: Kiersten White

Expected Publication: July 24, 2012

Blurb from Goodreads: Try as she might, Evie can’t seem to escape her not-so-normal past. And what was supposed to be a blissfully normal school break is ruined when a massive group of paranormals shows up at her house, claiming that Evie is the only one who can protect them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The deadly war between the faerie courts looms ever closer. The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its future rests solely in Evie’s hands.

So much for normal.

With a perfect blend of humor and suspense, Endlessly is everything readers could dream of in a conclusion—and the unexpected twists will keep them guessing until the very last page.

Why I’m Waiting: GUYS. HAVE YOU NEVER READ THESE BOOKS? Without a doubt, these books are some of the quirkiest stuff I’ve ever read. It’s hysterical and adorable all at once. It’s just pure, ecstatic fun. Also, this is the final book in the trilogy, so :’( but at the same time I WANT SO MUCH. July 24th can’t come fast enough!

Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

My TBR list is OUT OF CONTROL. Seriously. Trying to pick just 10 books is going to be super hard. However, I’ve tried to break this down so maybe it’ll make some sense. And keep me from going overboard. I’m going with 5 books I have but need to read, and then 5 books I want to get this summer!

Have but need to read:

Rapture by Lauren Kate ~ Insignia by SJ Kincaid ~ Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill ~ The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Cathrynne Valente ~ The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Books I can’t wait to get!

Endlessly by Kiersten White ~ Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff ~ Defiance by CJ Redwine ~ Starling by Lesley Livingston ~ Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

It’s my birthday! Have a present on me!

Yeah, you heard right! Today – June 18th - is my 18th birthday. WOOHA! Look out world, I’m an adult and stuff. Whatever that means.

Alright, well actually, it means a bunch of things. It means that I graduate from high school this weekend. It means I’m off to college in the fall. It means that a lot of things are going to be changing in my life! I guess this is sort of early warning: the blog might stutter around come August/September while I try to get my feet on the ground.

But you don’t care about that – that’s a long way away! I know why you’re REALLY here. You want to hear about my giveaway, not listen to me sing myself happy birthday! So here we go!

Yeah, yeah, that is a horribly mangled piece of clip art right there. I know where my  talents aren’t thank you very much. But the idea remains the same. One of my favorite series, the Fallen books by Lauren Kate, also had a birthday close to mine when Rapture – the fourth and final book – came out last week. I thought what’s a better way to celebrate then to giveaway a WHOLE SET OF THE SERIES? Yeah, you heard me.

I’m giving away hardcover copies of Fallen, Torment, Passion and Rapture to ONE lucky winner!

Are you excited now? You should be! Please click HERE to enter. (And note that this giveaway is US only.) This giveaway will run until June 30th. Don’t forget to check out the sidebar for the other giveaways I’m currently running – there’s a few!

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop – Win a Meg Cabot Prize Pack!

I know, I know, my Indie Author Giveaway only started two days ago. But you know what? I STILL HAVE BOOKS TO GIVEAWAY! You excited? Be excited. (And make sure you check out my Indie Author Giveaway if you haven’t already.) Now what’s this hop about, you ask? Well, like it sounds, 160 blogs are clearing their bookshelves and YOU get to profit. (You can check out the list of said blogs HERE.) What am I giving away, you ask? Well how’s this sound:

You can click on each picture to check out their Goodreads page if you like. Jinx is a hardcover and the other two are paperbacks.  Besides one crease in Avalon High’s cover, they are in excellent condition despite the fact that I love all three of these books dearly. Trust me, if I wasn’t going off to college soon, I wouldn’t let you have them.

So are you in? I hope you are. Click HERE to enter. Please note that this giveaway is US only.