Release Day Giveaway!

Hi all! So it is the release day for ENTICE by Carrie Jones! Woot! If you aren't excited enough, check out the book trailer:



Also, Carrie is answering questions about the book throughout the day at this link below! So be sure to check that out! She is an absolute hoot. I have LOVED interviewing her before!
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=53387039515&topic=14517

Okay now the part you've all been waiting for! The giveaway. You can win ENTICE and some awesome ENTICE bookmarks!

Contest open until 11:59 PM EST on Friday, Dec. 17. USA mailing addresses only, no PO boxes. (This is going to be mailed directly from the publisher). Just fill out the form below to enter!

Blog Tour Review: ENTICE by Carrie Jones

ENTICE
by Carrie Jones
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published December 14th 2010 by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
*Yes that means it is out TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!

Placement in the Pile: Top Picks

Summary: *Spoils if you have not read the other books*
Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that’s not quite how things have worked out.

For starters, well, Nick is dead. Supposedly, he’s been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it’s taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?

And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there’s that other small problem: Zara’s been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn’t just turned… She’s Astley’s queen.

Review: *if you read the summary, this holds no spoils*
I literally just finished this book and my thoughts are swirling around my head. There is SO much to love about this book, so much that is just plain awesome sauce -- including the fact that the phrase "awesome sauce" is IN the book.

Something I absolutely love about the NEED series is Carrie's way of creating quirky and completely believable characters. I can't say there is one of the main characters that I dislike; other than the bad guys of course.

Zara in particular stands out because it is her story, and her point of view. But I think Zara's character is so relateable. She is fiercely loyal and loving to her friends and family and has a strong moral compass. But she is also a bit insecure, and questions herself and who she has become, as all teenagers do.

However my biggest issue with her is her loyalty. I am on team Astley, and much of this book is spent developing their relationship and the hardships they face as Pixie King and Queen in a warring territory -- but Zara's driving force in this book really is Nick. He is gone (for now) but not forgotten.

Carrie Jones has once again sucked me right back into Zara's world of intricate pixie and fae lore and makes me so very much want to fast forward the next year to get the fourth (and I believe final) book in the series!

For more info on this title check out these links:
http://www.facebook.com/BloomsburyTeens
http://www.facebook.com/NeedPixies

*Thanks so much to Bloomsbury for including me in the blog tour! And stay tuned this week for another great giveaway!! Now, everyone go out and buy this book!

Contest Winner!

Sorry this took me so long to post...BUT without any further waiting! The randomizer has spoken and the winner of the signed copy of MATCHED by Ally Condie is...

Jenna Wood!!!

Congrats Jenna! Thanks so much to EVERYONE who entered and our followers old and new! And if you didn't win this one, keep reading this week! There might just be another chance to win something great!

In My Mailbox (25)

Well, this is KINDA from my mailbox. It is a book I got this week. This week my writer's group had a Christmas Party and we did a gift/book exchange to celebrate Christmas together!

I scored this awesome book that I have been eyeing!

REVOLUTION
by Jennifer Donnelly
Hardcover, 472 pages
Published October 12th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Summary:
BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

**Doesn't that sound awesome? I have not read A NORTHERN LIGHT, but if I love this one I may just have to!

P.S.

I didn't forget about the giveaway! The winner will be announced Sunday night. ;)

Movie Review: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Alright folks. I REALLY want to help push this movie. My husband and went and saw it last night and we were very impressed. We are fans of the other movies in this series, and I was interested to see how the film would translate from a different studio (as Disney - I think prematurely - dropped the films after trying to sell a Narnia movie as a summer blockbuster and not a holiday movie).






Here is the scoop. It was good. Really good. All the main actors played their parts even better than the first two. Lucy is adorable, yet growing up and she doesn't know who she is or wants to be. Edmund is still frustrating, but generally happier, more mature and stronger than he ever was. Caspian is well, Caspian. We'll get to him...he deserves his own paragraph. And Eustice, besides having a horrendous name and being an incredibly annoying character both physically and personality-wise, ends up winning your heart in the end.

The story does not stick completely to the book, as the book is more episodic in nature they added a plot line element to tie it all together, but it didn't detract from the main story, or the point of the book. CS Lewis is one of my favorite authors, and I LOVE these stories and the world of Narnia!

Okay, on to my main reason for pushing the film. I love Ben Barnes. He is just the most perfect eye candy in the world. So of course Caspian is my favorite character, but it isn't just that Ben plays him. I really do love Caspian's character and his personal journey in this movie is subtly played out, yet poignant in the end.

So, take some time THIS WEEKEND to go see this movie. I think it didn't have as much money in publicity as the others and is thus getting low audiences. I won't have it. If just HALF of my regular readers read this and decide to go see this movie this weekend then I will be happy!

Plus, didn't I mention that you get to look at this guy for over 2 hours? Yeah. It's worth every penny! ;) Just wish the loose pirate pants were more flattering on any of them...

Review: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis

Hardcover, 400 pages

To Be Published January 11th 2011 by Razorbill

Placement in the Pile: Top Picks

Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone--one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship--tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Review:
Wow, what a ride!

This is one of the most unique books I've read in a long time. It's sci-fi, but also dystopian. I couldn't put it down, and can't wait for the next one. The first chapter alone is so powerful, the imagery and emotions reach out and throttle you, forcing you to keep reading.

It never lets up throughout the whole book. As you try to figure out what the deal is with "Elder" and "Eldest" and everyone else. Oh, and don't get me started on "the season." Yikes!

The whole thing is masterfully executed, with twists and turns and highs and lows that will leave you begging for more. Definitely put this one on your TBR list.

200 Followers Giveaway!!!!!!!!

WOOT! How cool is that? I reached 200 followers! I just want to say how incredibly grateful I am for all of those who read and support our blog! I wish I had a big stack of books to giveaway for this really cool event! But I kinda cleaned house last month and gave away most of my extras.

BUT I think this giveaway is pretty darn awesome!

Just fill out the form below to win a SIGNED hardcover copy of MATCHED by Ally Condie!



The contest is open only until this Friday December 10th 11:59 pm EST so I can get it out in the mail in time for you to receive it for Christmas (if you celebrate it). Open to USA and Canada mailing addresses only.