In My Mailbox (19)

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:

• The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm Translated by Jack Zipes- Bought
• Magyk by Angie Sage- Bought at Bull Moose
• SWAG!- All of it sent to me from the wonderful Mickey from I'm A Book Shark other than the Slide post card, which I received from the author for helping spread the word.

E-Books:

• Spectral by Shannon Duffy- Received from publish for review and blog tour.
• Lies Beneath by Anne Brown- Net Galley

Other than the two books I bought this was all from before last week. I forgot to add spectral to another IMM and last week I was just too busy with College homework and studying to do my blog features! I'm sorry to my loyal bloggers and thank you for sticking with me.

The fantastic Mickey was super awesome and said she would send me the Help book marks and to my surprise (after having a bad day) I received them in the mail along with a whole bunch of Swag! It totally made my day :). I love bookmarks, I have been collecting them forever. I was really excited to get some autographed ones:) Thank you thank you thank you Mickey :) I also love her blog book mark eeep :) awesomeness. I will have to return this kindness when I can :) The author of Slide also sent me an autographed post card for being a  slider and help spread the word! Thank you that was very nice.

I finally bought a book of Grimm Fairy Tales because I have been obsessed with once Upon a Time. I find the darker Fairy Tales with a twist interesting and have never read them. I only know the Disney versions, which I know are much different. I hope I like this book, I read some good reviews on it so I think it should be good! I also found Magyk at Bull Moose for .50 cents :)

What did you get in your mailbox!?

TGIF (13)

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


Question: Musical Stories: If you could read a book about any song, which song would you love to see written down in story form?


I can kind of cheat on this question because there is  a song but one of my favorite artists that an author decided to write the story for it. The book is Remembrance by Michelle Madow based on the song and music video Love Story by Taylor Swift. I love the book and love the song! I think Michelle Madow did an awesome job turning the song into a longer story. I love Taylor Swift so if you take any of her songs and made it a book i would most likely read it.


What you may have missed on my blog this week:


Features:

• Tell Me Something Tuesday (11)
• Waiting on Wednesday (18)

Reviews:

• Cycles by Lois D. Brown
• Hana by Lauren Oliver

Other Awesome Stuff:

• Masquerade Read Along: Chapters 1-8
• Masquerade Read Along: Chapters 8-16

Masquerade Read Along: Chapters 8-16

Chapters 8-16 Discussion Questions

1. Sam is admittedly drawn to Heven before they even meet. Why do think this is?


He says she just seemed peaceful and happy. I guess sometimes you can just be drawn to someone and I'm sure the fact that she was pretty didn't hurt. I don't really have a great answer for this though.

2. In an earlier chapter The Hope states that Sam must prove himself. During these chapters Sam does some things – bad things – (covering up murder, fighting, hiding a body, etc.) all to protect Heven and his true identity. Do you think he was right to do these things?


I understand protecting Heven and trying to conceal his true identity but I don't think he should have covered up murder/ hid the body. He didn't kill her and it wasn't his fault so I'm not sure why he would be questioned if he just found her. The girls family and friends deserved to know what happened to her instead she was being reported as a run away. I don't think that is right but I can also see why he did it and him being afraid.

3. In chapter twelve Kimber says some thing’s to Heven that make the reader wonder about their friendship. Do you think there is any truth Kimber’s drunken confessions? If so where do you think Heven and Kimber’s friendship goes from here?


I agree with what Heven says about drinking just makes the truth come out. I'm not sure if Kimber is a real friend or not or if she was just frustrated and angry. She is a girl that loves the spotlight and didn't want it taken away.  I think her outburst was mean and selfish. I feel as Heven gets closer to Sam that her "friendship" with Kimber gets weaker.

4. Heven is changing, becoming more confident. Do you think that after something like this (her accident and disfigurement) happens to someone that she can ever go back to the person she was before? Do you think she will want to?


I think it depends on the person, I can see she is getting more confident but not as much as she could be. I think she would like to be the person she was before but I think once someone goes through something like that you can't really ever go back to how it was before.

5. Toward the end of these set of chapters, Heven finds out Sam’s secret, who he really is. She has a strong reaction. Do you think you would react the same way? Why or why not?


If I loved them the way she says she loves Sam then I think I would have handled it a little better and tried to listen instead of shutting him down. I probably would have freaked out also, I won't deny that. I wouldn't have tried to jump off of a balcony to get away from him though. I think he had already proved that he wasn't going to hurt her, if he wanted her dead she would have been dead already.

Waiting on Wednesday (18)

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

Ascend by Amanda Hocking
Expected Release Date: April 24, 2012


Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world.  Ascend is the final chapter in her bestselling Trylle trilogy—and you’ll never guess how it ends!


Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself.  If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe.  But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them?
The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end.
Everything has been leading to this moment.  The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it (Goodreads)


I haven't started this series yet but I jut got the first book recently and look forward to reading it.

Masquerade Read Along: Chapters 1-8

5 discussion questions:

1. If you were disfigured like Heven (by some sort of accident) do you think you would have reacted the same way as her? (loss of self confidence, hiding yourself, etc)

I think that depends on when it happened to me. I think I would have handled it differently than Heven either way but if I was still in High School I would have been more affected than if it happened now. High School is hard and people are mean so I probably would have tried to hide the disfiguration also but I would have stood up for myself. Heven just lets them taunt her and says nothing which is frustrating to me. I have been picked on before and I have always spoken up and stood up for myself, never letting anyone walk all over me. I know I would have less confidence if it happened in high school than now but I believe I would have handles it better than Heven. 

2. Do you think that Kimber’s plan for revenge against Cole (for kissing another girl) is a good idea?

No, I thought that was a terrible idea and figured it would back fire especially if she wanted to get him back. She is also blind to the fact that she is hurting her friend, but of course it doesn't help that Heven doesn't speak up.

3. In the beginning chapters, Heven is very drawn to Sam but won’t admit it due to her own insecurities. Kimber begins to “date” Sam… do you think that Heven should have spoken up? Do think Kimber should have seen Heven’s real feelings?

Heven seems to have no self esteem and doesn't believe she has any worth and is too afraid of losing her only real friend left to tell her how she feels. Heven should have told her best friend that she liked Sam and how she felt. If Kimber didn't understand then she isn't a real friend and isn't worth her time.

4. Masquerade is broken in four separate POV’s: Heven, Sam, The Hate and The Hope. Do you think having multiple POV’s adds depth to the story? Why or why not?

I like seeing different perspectives because I do think it adds to the story and helps you understand other characters. The Hate and The Hope confuse me at this point but I hope it all comes together more as the story continues.

5. A great source of strength for Heven is her grandmother. Who do you think yours is/would be?

I don't have a specific person that gives me strength. The things that I have been through in life have made me a stronger person. I'm a strong person in general and I feel that I have a lot of strength.  I think people can help and having friends and people to talk to is helpful to gain strength and build confidence which Heven needs to do.

Tell Me Something Tuesday (11)

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: Who are your book boyfriends?

Adam from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

Charles from the Alpha Omega series by Patricia Briggs

Jace from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Four from Divergent by Veronica Roth

Alex from Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Caleb from Significance by Shelly Crane

Jem from Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I'm sure I could make this list longer but the conclusion is: dang I have a lot of boyfriends :-P
I can't wait to get more time with these awesome guys! I will be sure to get more of Four on May 1st! I'm so excited!

Cycles by Lois D. Brown Review

Cycles by Lois D. Brown

★★★★☆

Renee was just a normal girl, until she was left to watch her neighbor’s horse, Mercury. She had never ridden a horse before, until people broke into the barn to steal the horse. When she put the saddle on to ride Mercury, she noticed that it had a spiral on it, which tended to be her signature doodle. During her escape with Mercury she took a tumble and blacked out. When Renee woke up in the hospital she learned that her blood type didn’t match any known blood type, which lead to the discovery that the people she believed to be her parents were not. Renee searched for answers as she began to remember things from another life.

Cycles was an interesting read. I really enjoyed the concept, it was different and a new one to me. I’m not sure if there are other books along the same lines but for me this was anew idea and I really liked it. I found it original and fresh. I enjoy when I find new stories instead of reading about the same idea used over and over again.

The author did a good job with writing an interesting Young Adult novel that grabbed me and I’m sure will grab other readers as well. The author will be releasing the sequel Spaces sometime this year and I look forward to reading the it to find out what happens next with Renee.

This book was provided to me from the author for review, thank you for a great new read.


Buy now from from Amazon!