Waiting on Wednesday (13)

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Infamous (chronicles of Nick #3) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Expected Release Date: March 13, 2012

The world has fallen in love with Nick Gautier and the Dark-Hunters. Now Nick’s saga continues in the next eagerly anticipated volume...

Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That’s the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn’t the average teenager. He’s a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him.

He’s learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive such a difficulty? But that isn’t the primary skill he has to master. Survival is.

And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known.

Or he’ll be the one who ends the world. With enemies new and old gathering forces, he will have to call on every part of himself to fight or he’ll lose everyone he cares about.

Even himself. (goodreads)


I honestly have't read this series yet but one of my good friends loves it so I chose it because I didn't know what to do for a Waiting on Wednesday this week. I have heard great things and plan to read this series at some point. ZOMBIES!


Pre-Order nor from Barnes and Noble or Amazon!

Tell Me Something Tuesday (6)

Welcome to Cambria Hebert’s weekly meme Tell Me Something Tuesday where she asks you something and you tell her the answer!! It’s as simple as that!


Question: If you could travel into any book to the setting and meet the characters which book would it be and why?


Oh boy I love so many books. Even books as crazy as Hunger Games and Divergent I would like to visit because I love them and would like to meet the characters especially the got boys like Four :) I love Four and Can't wait to get more of him in the next book. I really can't pick a single book or place for any reason because when I get sucked into a good book I feel like I'm in it and love being in it with the characters and the setting and just everything. Remembrance is another more safer pick...well sort of :-P It is a love story and again there is a guy :) I would have loved to have a masquerade dance in High school I can say that. We never had anything cool like that! Why is that stuff always in movies and books? Has anyone actually has anything like that in real life? If you have, I'm jealous. I don't have a great answer and maybe if I had more time to think about it I could come up with a better one. This post is already very late. :-P

Top Ten Tuesday (13)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created  at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list  that one of their bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer.

Top Ten Books I'd Give A Theme Song To (and please tell us the song and why you'd pick it for the book!)

This week My good friend Katie helped me with this list! We mostly did books that we both read. I cheated with Hunger Games :) I couldn't help myself. I love the Safe and Sound song :). Katie was awesome at coming up with songs. I had a hard time thinking of them and it took us a few hours to do.

1. Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton- Warning by Incubus

2. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare- Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World

3. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs- Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival & Can't Fight The Moonlight by LeAnn Rimes
 
 

4. I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore-War by Edwin Starr

5. Beastly by Alex Flinn- Long Time Coming by oliver James
 

6. Old Magic by Marianne Curley- Butterfly by Celtic Woman

7. Evernight by Claudia Gray- Lips of an Angel by Hinder

8. A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn- This Kiss by Faith Hill

couldn't do the original music video for this one it was blocked :( can find it here

9. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs- Everything by Michael Buble 

10. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift Ft. the Civil Wars 

*BONUS*

by Katie P <3

WARRIOR HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima- Flying by James Newton Howard

GIVEAWAY: The Reeducation of Cherry Truong by Aimee Phan

Giveaway:

ONE Copy of THE REEDUCATION OF CHERRY TRUONG to US or CANADA Addressed only. The giveaway will run until March 13, 2012. To enter fill out the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post. The winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond. To win you must be a follower of my blog.

The Reeducation of Cherry Truong by Aimee Phan Synopsis: (Provided by the Publisher)

Readers were first introduced to Aimee Phan’s “strong, eloquent tales” in her collection of short stories, We Should Never Meet, which was a Kiriyama Prize Notable Book in 2005.  She has returned with a debut novel about the Vietnamese American experience in THE REEDUCATION OF CHERRY TRUONG (St. Martin’s Press; March 13, 2012; $25.99).  Praised for her graceful and spare writing and compared to Amy Tan, Phan explores the lives of two fierce and unforgettable families, the Truongs and the Vos as they assimilate themselves in their new homelands following the fall of Saigon.

Cherry Truong travels from California to Vietnam determined to bring back her exiled brother, only to discover he is quite happy in his new life and that the unspoken rift between the two may never completely heal.  Spanning thirty years and across three continents, Cherry begins to unravel the family secrets that not only have damaged her relationship with her brother but have also deposited one side of her family in the U.S. and the other in Paris.  

Phan’s depiction of this multigenerational, vibrant family keenly pinpoints their real life experiences of survival and immigration, marriage and infidelity, loyalty and betrayal, and successes and failuresall wrapped up in the quest for the American dream.  As each member of the family is revealed and more secrets uncovered, Cherry is forced to face her own place in their long family history and come to terms with her discoveries.

 *****************  

“THE REEDUCATION OF CHERRY TRUONG explores the intersection of history and human hearts. With tenderness and wisdom, this intricately woven tale presents a world both mysterious and familiar to readers. Aimee Phan is a keen observer and a beautiful writer.”--Yiyun Li, author of The Vagrants

“A touching relational and multigenerational family story … By not shying away from issues such as infidelity, gambling addiction, and racism in describing the various hardships experienced by her characters, Phan makes this a strong and realistic work … Phan's intricate storytelling recalls Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club in her ability to bind the family histories together but without the mystical spirituality that marks Tan's writing. Readers familiar with the work of Bich Minh Nguyen (Short Girls) should also enjoy this freshly presented story of the Vietnamese American experience.”--Library Journal

“Touching on the events of the Vietnam War, cultural assimilation, reconciliation, forgiveness, and redemption, Phan creates an epic tale.  Through Cherry’s eyes, the complex country of Vietnam is lovingly explored in immense, realistic detail.  Readers of Maxine Hong Kingston and Gish Jen will enjoy Phan’s sensitive, lush prose and recognize similar questions of identity.”--Booklist

About the Author:

Aimee Phan received her MFA from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop where she won a Maytag Fellowship and teaches in the MFA Writing Program and Writing and Literature Program at California College of the Arts.  Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, and The Oregonian among others.

Order now from Barnes & Noble or Amazon!

In My Mailbox (13)

Find out what is in my mailbox weekly, a feature hosted by The Story Siren. I will share what I get every week. If I haven't gotten anything new then I will share what I'm reading and What I will be reviewing in the near future.


Physical Books:

• Delirium by Lauren Oliver- Won fron the amazing Michele from A Belle's Tales

E-Books:

• Intangible by J. Meyers- Received from the author for review
• Chronicles of Myriad: Quest for the Oracle by James Nicholas Adams -Received from the author for review
• Paradise 21 (a New Dawn #1) by Aubrie Dionne- Received from the author for review
• Tundra 37 (a New Dawn #2) by Aubrie Dionne -Received from the author for review
• A Hero Rising (a New Dawn #3) by Aubrie Dionne- Received from the author for review
• Raven by Nuayma Jeggels -(giveaway)-bought 
• Accordance by Shelly Crane- Bought
• Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby- Net Galley

I got quite a bit this week! I received kind of a lot of author requests this week! it has been crazy! I was really excited when I won Delirium from Michele's Valentines Giveaway :) I finished reading it on Thursday. I couldn't wait I had to sneak it in. It was so good! I can't wait for the novella Hana which comes out Tuesday and Pandemonium which also comes out Tuesday!

Heather from Book Stacks on Deck was super nice and sent me an e-gift card for Barnes and Noble. A while back I had won a giveaway for Raven and never received the e-book from the author. Heather tried to get in contact with them but they went MIA. I told Heather not to worry about it, just keep me in mind of she got in contact with the author.  No big Deal! I had pretty much forgotten about it when I got an email from Heather and she sent me the $10 gift card. I am very thankful because I wasn't expecting anything and really wasn't worried about it. I bought the Raven ebook with it and also Accordance which I have been wanting to read since I read Significance. I can't wait! I'm excited about all of the books I got this week! Thank you to all of the authors and a special thanks to Michele and Heather! You both are awesome!

TGIF (8)

TGIF at GReads- This Feature is for Fridays to re-cap the week's post & to answer a question from GReads.


Question: Required Reading: Which book from your school days do you remember reading & enjoying? Is there a book published now that you'd like to see in today's curriculum for kids?










 

Honestly there wasn't many books I enjoyed reading when I was being forced. one that I really loved reading is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I think that it is such a great book and at least every girl should read it. They even made a pretty good move adaptation of it.I also really enjoyed Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. It is not something I would typically read at all but I really loved it and I plan to read it again.

There are so many awesome Young Adult books out now that I would have loved to read in school. I'm not sure if they will ever end up in the curriculum. I like a lot of fantasy so that probably doesn't help either. With that my answer will probably be horrible because I would say things like the Hunger Games, Divergent, City of Bones and all of my favorite YA titles. I feel that probably isn't a great answer because those probably aren't the types of books they want to have in school discussions but one can dream right?

 

What you may have missed on my blog this week: (also adding some stuff from last week because I didn't have time to do last weeks TGIF, I also did all my other features last week but am not linking those feel free to check those out also!)

Features:

• In my Mailbox (12)
• Top Ten Tuesday (12)
• Tell Me Something Tuesday (5)
• Waiting on Wednesday (12)

Book Reviews:

• Until Next Time by Amy Lignor
• Asenath by Anna Patricio
• Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

Other Awesome Stuff:

• Interview with Rod Tyson and Curse of Ancient Shadows Giveaway
• Remembrance by Michelle Madow Giveaway
• A Nurses Story: My inspiration for becoming a nurse (yes it is book related)
• Hottest Boys in Books
• Transcended Time Title Hunt

Transcended Time Title Hunt

Welcome to the Transcend Time Saga Title Hunt! The title hunt is the reveal of the title for the final novel in the Transcend Time Saga. Each of the bloggers participating in the hunt have been given a letter. Hop around to the blogs participating to hunt for the letters. (And remember that two of the letters are used twice, so the title is eight letters long.) 

Once you've unscrambled the title, go to Michelle Madow's blog and use the title name to enter the giveaway for a voucher for an advanced e-copy of the final Transcend Time novel! (She is giving away a voucher because the novel is planned to be released at the end of the year, and she hasn't finished writing it yet! This voucher will ensure that you will receive an advance e-copy once they are available). 

Letter: M

I’m supposed to write about what I hope will happen in the final book of the Transcended Time Saga. I’m honestly not too sure. I know I want more of Lizzie and Drew! I love them and I want them to work out and be together. Yes I know I’m a hopeless romantic. I would also like Lizzie and Chelsea to end up working things out. They had been best friends forever and it sucks that Drew and Lizzie’s relationship probably severed it forever. I also have a feeling they may not work it out and Chelsea is going to go all revenge crazy. I haven’t gone into detail of exactly what I want to happen I just want more time with the characters. I love the story and I can’t wait to see what Michelle Madow has in store next. Will true love have a second chance at happiness? It didn’t in the past but I’m hoping it will this time.

I loved Remembrance and Vengeance! If you haven’t read them I highly recommend them both! While Michelle Madow is on tour you can get the e-book copy for just $0.99! How awesome is that? I personally had to have the physical book because it is beautiful and such an awesome book. 

Click the links below to buy your copy from Barnes and Noble or Amazon!

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Expected Release Date: May 1, 2012


One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature. (goodreads)


I just finished reading Divergent which was a gift from Michele (Cheles bells) from A Belle's Tales. I absolutely loved it and need more like now! It was such an awesome book. I don't know how I'm going to wait until May! If you haven't read Divergent read it!


Order now from Barnes and Noble and Amazon




 

Tell me Something Tuesday (5)

Welcome to Cambria Hebert’s weekly meme Tell Me Something Tuesday where she asks you something and you tell her the answer!! It’s as simple as that!


Question: How do you feel about love triangles?


I think it depends on the book. Sometimes they add some good tension but sometimes they just drive me nuts especially when I want specific people to be together. Many books I have read have had them like Twilight, Moon Called, Evernight, Hunger Games well and about every book it seems like now that I am thinking. Sometimes the love triangles are not too series where it is one outside person that wants someone and they never end up together or sometimes they do. It does make for a good story and keeps you engrossed and sometimes you can't predict what will happen which is good. I think as I'm answering this I'm realizing I have a real love hate relationship with them.

Top Ten Tuesday (12)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created  at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list  that one of their bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer.


Top Ten Books I'd Quickly Save If My House Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens (or any other natural disaster...you get the drift. )

1. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
2. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
5. Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler
6. Dawn Rochelle series by Lurlene McDaniel
7. Remembrance by Michele Madow
8. Angel Trilogy by Lurlene McDaniel
9. Harry potter by J.K. Rowling
10. My Nook!- It has a ton of books on it hehe like Significance by Shelly Crane that I love and more.

If this really happened it would be very difficult for one many of the books I listed are in series and I would want the entire series. My Nook is a good way out of it by having a ton of books on that but I don't have all e-books of the books I have physical copies of. I don't have the new nook. I have the old white e-ink one and I love it. Maybe someday I will upgrade but I love what I have right now.

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs Review

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega #2)

★★★★★

Anna was still struggling to not be terrified around dominant wolves other than her mate, Charles Cornick. Anna, an Omega wolf was forced to be submissive with her first pack. Omegas calm the wolves around them and are not violent unless they have to be, not submissive.

Anna found herself surrounded by dominant wolves when she had to go to a conference with Charles, who was the Marrok’s son. Bran, the Merrok was the leader of all the North American werewolf packs. Each pack had its own leader which was the Alpha but the Merrok was kind of like the werewolf equivalent of the President of the United States. Bran made the decision that it was time for the wolves to come out to the human world so it would happen in a controlled manner. Some of the packs didn’t like that idea, and the conference was to discuss it.

Anna was terrified, and that was distracting to everyone being an Omega. They were all ready to kill whoever was making her upset, one of the effects of being an Omega. Charles sent her to go shopping for Christmas gifts with another wolf that he trusted and his mate, who was a witch. On the way back to the hotel, on their last trip, they were attacked by vampires, which started an investigation. Local vampires weren’t stupid enough to attack Charles Cornick’s mate; something big was going on, and another wolf might have been involved.

This was an awesome book. Patricia Briggs does not disappoint! Most of you probably know by now that she writes one of my all-time favorite series, the Mercy Thompson series, which I highly recommend all the time. This is the spin-off series to that one. I love this series, also. It is so much fun getting to read about the characters you don’t get to know very much about in the other series.

These books always have awesome, strong, kick-ass female characters. Guys, don’t frown - these are great reads for you, too! If you get past the covers, they have plenty of action and a great storyline that men can equally love as much as the women.

I loved getting to know these characters more and watching Anna overcome some of her fears and obstacles, showing how strong she really was. The author did a great job with the characters and the storyline, as usual. She creates a fantastic world that I absolutely love being in, and I am always anticipating reading another one of her books for more.

I can’t wait to get my hands on Fair Game, coming out March 6, 2012.

Buy now at Barnes and Noble or Amazon

Asenath by Anna Patricio Review

Asenath by Anna Patricio

★★★★☆

Asenath was not always her name, and she was not always from a powerful and wealthy Egyptian family. When she was young, her life was changed forever when she was kidnapped and never saw her family again. After some time, she was saved from her horrible fate and given a new life as a servant. While she did her duties, a couple became taken with her and, having always wanted a child of their own, decided to adopt her. This started her life as Asenath, again changing her life forever.

Asenath had everything she could have dreamed of and lived very well, but she still felt an emptiness until she met Joseph. He made her feel things she had never felt before, and she enjoyed talking to him. Unfortunately, fate was not on their side, and, just as she was able to see him again, he was taken away from her, sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Asenath had to go on with her life, hoping there would be a way to get him out.

This book surprised me. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure about it, especially since I don’t normally read historical fiction. The love part is probably what mostly caught my attention; I always like a good love story. After I got past the beginning, I began getting into it, and, as I got farther in, I found myself wanting to turn the pages more and more to find out what would happen next.

I really was taken in by the love story, which was probably my favorite part. I often forgot that the story was taking place in Egypt. It had a forbidden love thing going on because Joseph wasn’t in the same “class” as her, and, especially because he went to jail, the entire time, I’m screaming in my head at her parents, “Hello, she was a servant before you adopted her!” It was a great love story that came full circle. It even had a twist that I never saw coming. I really loved it and was like, “Oh my, that is amazing.” It really touched my heart.

The author did really well with this book. I don’t know much about the Egyptian time, but I felt like the author gave me a good feel of the time and place. I liked the characters, and they felt real. The author impressed me, and she did great with the beginning, middle, and end, bringing the story full circle in one book. It had a good ending and didn’t leave me expecting another book because it felt complete.

I received a request from the author to review this book.

Buy Now from Barnes and Noble or Amazon

Until Next Time Review

Until Next Time by Amy Lignor

★★★★★

Matt and Emily completed each other and were soul-mates. They were created to be an angel team that was supposed to stick together. They were best friends and loved each other, but that didn’t stop fate from taking an unexpected turn when they were sent down to Earth. They didn’t remember their angel lives when they became Daniel and Liz. Not knowing sent Liz on a path without Daniel, and she was drawn to someone else instead of who she was meant to be with. Emily and Matt were not ready for what they would experience as humans, or how it would affect them as angels.

This was a fantastic read. The only other books I have read that have to do with any angel form was the Kissed by an Angel series by Elizabeth Chandler, so I didn’t know what to expect. This was very different from the Kissed by an Angel books, which I also love a lot. It was interesting reading about Heaven and the well-known angels there, like Michael. I don’t really know stories about angels, and my only angel fix I have gotten like that was from watching Supernatural. Different stories have different takes.

I liked seeing pieces of Heaven and how the angels acted. It was also entertaining when they were playing with different human things in Heaven and trying to understand them. Angels didn’t have human experiences unless they went down to Earth and had them, and then, they received all of the human emotions like anger and hurt. I never thought about angels not having those emotions; maybe life is easier that way.

The author did really well with having Emily and Matt experience these emotions, and, the longer they were on Earth, the harder it was to separate them when they were back in Heaven. Emily and Matt (as Liz and Daniel) were touched by some truly kind people - and some truly vile people - on Earth, which is really how it is in the world. Even as angels, they struggle to make the right choices and protect the people they love.

I enjoyed the characters and the world and the entire experience. I liked that you got to see their human life and also get glimpses of the angel life. I really look forward to reading more books in this series when they come out.

I received a copy of this book from the author for review. Thank you, Amy Lignor, for this great read.

Buy from Barnes and Noble or Amazon now!