M.I.A Update and Exciting Upcoming Events!!!!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth!! Unfortunately, I do have a very sick little boy at home.  Hopefully he will be feeling better within the next few days and I will have some time to catch up on posting.  Check back soon because I will be announcing my 'One Year Blogoversary Bash' giveaway.  I am also super excited and happy to announce that I will be posting a sign-up for bloggers interested in participating in a blog tour for Intrinsical by Lani Woodland!!!  If you would like the chance to read and review this exciting new young adult paranormal page-turner, then make sure you stop by next week (not sure which day yet- depends on how my little one feels)!!  I will have a form that you can fill out that will secure you spot on the tour!  For now... I am keeping my fingers crossed that my son will start feeling better soon and life will return to normal!  Thanks for your patience!! 

Teaser Tuesdays

'Teaser Tuesday' is a weekly meme hosted by Mizb of Should Be Reading

You can do it!  Here's how:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share a few "teaser" sentences/or a paragraph from somewhere on that page.
• Share the title and author ~ other 'Teaser Tuesday' participants may want to add your book to their TBR list!

*Be careful not to include SPOILERS!!*

Here is my teaser from Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan:
Excerpt from page 117:
"Because of the relative length of our lives, so many things lose importance or become lost themselves, against such a huge  backdrop," River continued.  "How many lovers have you had?  How many children?  How many friends have you loved who are dead now?  For regular people, these events are tremendous and shape or change their entire lives.  For us, it's a wink in time.  But they do affect us.  Little by little, bit by bit, loss by loss, we ourselves become diminished.  We've lost so much for so long that most things, most people, most experiences lose their value for us, their weight.  We forget how to value things, how to feel things.  We forget how to love."

*I am really enjoying this book so far! It just released, so go out and grab you a copy!!

In My Mailbox (44)

**Thanks to The Story Siren for hosting IMM

'In My Mailbox' is a weekly post that spotlights the new books that were received during the week.  I had a GREAT week and I am very excited about reading and reviewing these titles!!  Here is what I got:

The Broken Lake (The Pace Series #2) by Shelena Shorts

Monster High by Lisi Harrison

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

BitterFrost by Kailin Gow

*Now you know what I got!  What did you get?

Review: Promise by Kristie Cook

Promise (Soul-Savers, #1)
Written by Kristie Cook
Release Date: Available NOW!!
Self-Published!

I initially caught sight of this book on Goodreads and was intrigued by it's summary.  I had not heard of the author before and the book was self-published, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I started reading the book the day I received it in the mail and I honestly read it cover to cover in one day!  This is a GREAT book! 

Summary from Goodreads:
"Alexis Ames has a life full of promise…but not all promises can be kept.

When Alexis Ames is attacked by creatures that can’t be real, she decides it’s time she learns who she really is, with or without the help of her mother, who guards their family’s secrets closely. After meeting the inhumanly attractive, multi-talented Tristan Knight, however, Alexis retreats behind her façade of normalcy…until she discovers he’s not exactly normal either. Then their secrets begin to unravel.

Their union brings hope and promise to her family’s secret society, the Angels’ army, and to the future of mankind. But it also incites a dangerous pursuit by the enemy – Satan’s minions and Tristan’s creators. After all, Alexis and Tristan are a match made in Heaven and in Hell. " 

My Thoughts:
I really loved this book!  Let me start by saying that this isn't a book for the younger ya readers.  While 90% of the book is PG-13, there are many sexual references and there is actual sex in the book.  It is definitely written in good taste.  The characters practice abstinence until marriage and the scenes are not written in a graphic manner, but I do feel that this is a read for 16 years of age and up.  That being said... Kristie Cook has written one helluva book!  

Promise doesn't fall into a neat little category.  Describing the book's genre is a little tricky for me.  It is definitely a romantic thriller, but it also a good vs. evil smackdown featuring warriors for both the dark (Hell) and the light (Heaven).  It isn't really about angels and demons, but they do play a major role indirectly (are you confused?).  I just can't explain it much more without giving away too much!  Anyway... The plot was super original and very intricate.  Cook did a wonderful job explaining everything without confusing the reader, and created some fantastic and memorable characters.  The main characters(and love interests), Alexis and Tristan, had great chemistry.  I appreciated how their relationship developed at a natural pace (not the 'love at first sight I'm madly in love with you a week after setting eyes on you' way that a lot of ya relationships develop).  The two were drawn to one another, but both carried such a large amount of emotional baggage and each had their fair share of secrets to protect.  Therefore, it took time to break down their barriers and develop the trust necessary to come into the relationship despite their individual pasts.  I really LOVED Tristan.  He may just be my new fictional husband!  He was loyal, self-sacrificing, and SUPER HOT!!  He had a true dark side that he fought with daily, but underneath all of the darkness, he had a good heart that rose above all of it.  I felt very connected to him and I found myself rooting for him and Alexis.  Alexis was a strong female protagonist.  She had so much uncertainity in her life concerning her identity and her destiny.  I just wanted to slap her mom sometimes for not just telling her the "BIG family secret".  There was a reason for keeping her in the dark, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for her as she suffered through feeling like an outcast and a freak.  She could do things normal people couldn't do, but was left with nagging questions like 'Why can I do this? What am I? and Why are we in danger?"  The build-up to these revelations was suspenseful and satisifying.  When the truth was revealed to Alexis (and the reader), it answered all of the questions raised and set up the next book in the Soul Savers series perfectly.  The ending left me feeling a rollercoaster of emotions.  I was sad about some things, happy about others, hopeful for the future and REALLY eager for the story to continue.  I will admit that I didn't grasp the full meaning of the title (Promise) until the very end of the book and the 'promise' made is the basis for the next book.

In short, this book rocked!  It was suspensful, action-packed, original, fast paced, and well written.  I find myself recommending it over and over to friends on the hunt for a good read.  I am on pins and needles waiting for the next installment titled, Purpose, that is due for release in Fall 2010.  Congrats Kristie Cook... you have written one of the best books I have read in awhile and you have kicked off one killer new series!!!

Teaser Tuesdays

'Teaser Tuesday' is a weekly meme hosted by Mizb of Should Be Reading

You can do it!  Here's how:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share a few "teaser" sentences/or a paragraph from somewhere on that page.
• Share the title and author ~ other 'Teaser Tuesday' participants may want to add your book to their TBR list!

*Be careful not to include SPOILERS!!*

Here is my teaser from Firelight by Sophie Jordan:
 
Excerpt from page 17:

"He slaps a had on the ledge and pulls himself inside.  With me.  No more than a foot seperates us.  Tight muscles ripple in his arms and biceps as he braces himself in a crouch, fingers lightly grazing the cave floor.  Our gazes crawl over each other.  Two strange animals inspecting each other for the first time."


I hope you enjoyed this little teaser!  I am about a third of the way through this book and so far it is really good and really original!!

Review: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

 
Halo
Written by Alexandra Adornetto
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
*arc copy provided the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I remember the first time I laid eyes on this cover ~ let's just say it was love at first sight!  I LOVE books about angels and this one sounded interesting!  It is really long (496 pages) and the author is really young (17!), so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book!

Summary from Goodreads:

"Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings. But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him? Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth."

My Thoughts:
I will admit that I have been on an angel kick lately-  I read three books back to back that featured my favorite celestial beings!  I was excited about this book and I was definitely in major cover love!!  The first thing that I noticed after receiving the book was its length.  It is just under 500 pages- this can be a good thing (if the book is really good and you don't want it to end!) or it can make it very hard to get through.  I certainly didn't have trouble finishing this book, but I did feel like some scenes could have been omitted without taking away from the character/plot development.  Adornetto did pay very close attention to every detail when it came to developing the main characters.  What made this book unique for me was that the main character was an angel.  The reader was allowed into the psyche of an angel and was given a front row seat for all of the unexpected trials and tribulations that came with adjusting to the mortal world.  Bethany was the youngest and most inexperienced of the angelic trio and it did show in her actions.  She was sent on this mission from Heaven with a purpose that seemed unattainable for such a newly created being- yet against the grumblings of the older (and wiser) angels, she was sent anyway.  The reasons behind her being sent were pretty evident to me early on, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the read.  I liked the other two angel characters as well (Gabriel and Ivy), and the mortal love interest (Xavier) was an honest all-american high school hearthrob.  I did fell that there were occassions were Gabriel and Ivy fell out of their character descriptions, but it wasn't drastic or extremely noticeable.  The story had a decent pace (some areas were slow but not boring) and the love story was totally adorable and innocent.  If you like books with tons of fast-paced action, then this probably won't be your type of read.  If you like swooning love stories, then this is definitely your book!  I thought that the ending was pretty good- a little predictable though- and the villian was VERY easy to pick out (for everyone but Bethany!).  That did bother me a bit.  I felt like she was incredibly niave at times and blind to what was right in front of her.  Those things aside- I enjoyed this read and I look forward to the next installment in the trilogy titled Hades, which is due for release in 2011.Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the g...mor

In My Mailbox (43)

**Thanks to The Story Siren for hosting IMM

'In My Mailbox' is a weekly post that spotlights the new books that were received during the week.  I had a GREAT week and I am very excited about reading and reviewing these titles!!  Here is what I got:

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby (Arc)
Wildthorn by Jane Eagland (Arc)
Infinite Days (SIGNED!!) by Rebecca Maizel
Radiance by Alyson Noel
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
7 Souls by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
The Returners by Gemma Malley
Thief Eyes by Janni Lee Simner
Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison
Midnighters-The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

* Now you know what I got!  What did you get?