Sunday, 27 January 2013

Letterbox Love (19)


Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.

This week was my birthday week but because of the dumb snow a few of my books haven't arrived yet and NONE of them arrived in time for my birthday but they did show up later on in the week when the snow started to thaw. I also got a nice bundle of review books when the snow had melted enough for the postman to trudge to my door, and they were epic so it totally made up for the silence earlier on this week. I do love the snow but when it interferes with birthday plans and books I do wish it would go. It's nearly all melted now which I'm thrilled about because for a while there I was worried it would interfere with me meeting John and Hank Green next weekend. SAY WHAT!? Yep this time next week I'll be on my way to London to meet them so I hope that's the last of the snow for now. ANYWAY let's get on to the books...

 For Review


The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead (I know, I know! Eeek!)
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (I have no idea why my copy doesn't have the title filled in, it is a finished copy. Printing mistake perhaps? Either way it's slightly annoying)
Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick (Teacher/Student relationships fascinate me and this one sounds really good)
Gilt by Katherine Longshore (I have heard great things about this one from US bloggers, excited!)
Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce (This sounds sad but wonderful)

 Birthday Presents


The Archived by Victoria Schwab (Squeals!)
The Essence by Kimberly Derting (Even more squealing. Also the US covers for this series are so pretty!)  
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (this sounds really good and has an interesting premise)
Altered by Jennifer Rush (ALL of the hot boys! Or so I'm told)
The Valentine's Card by Juliet Ashton (Valentines read 2013)

That’s it from me for another week! If any of these beauties have caught your eye and you’d like to find out more about them simply click on the title and the link will take you to goodreads for a full synopsis, reviews, and to add them to your wishlists. As always thank you to the lovely publishing folk for the review copies and various family members for my pressies! If you’re looking forward to a certain book in particular and want to request a review feel free to in the comments and I’ll do my best to get around to the book sooner rather than later. And if you decided to do a Letterbox Love, Book Haul, IMM, Showcase Sunday, Mailbox Monday or whatever else featuring the books you got this week leave me a link as I’d love to check out your books too! ^_^

 Happy reading till next time!

Thursday, 24 January 2013

Winner of Dance of Shadows Giveaway

The winner of a proof copy of Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black is...

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Imogen! An email has been sent to you :) Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway and spread the word. To everyone who didn't win as a heads up you can still download the first 3 chapters to get a taste for this book on kindle for free now at Amazon UK!

EDIT: As the first two winners never got back to me a third winner has been drawn.

Monday, 21 January 2013

Review for The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen 
Publisher: Self Published
Release: December 13th 2012
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Source: Bought



Goodreads Summary:
"There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.

For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.

Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved."

Review
You guys! I fell hard for this book. I had “the feeling” about it so I bought it and read it straight away as soon as I stumbled across it on the Kindle store. This book totally lived up to my expectations and was by far the best 77p I have ever spent!

The book centres on Callie and Kayden and is told in their alternating view points throughout the novel. Callie was raped at a young age and Kayden has been abused by his dad since childhood. Both of them deal with their issues in a very different way Callie by making herself as unnoticeable as possible and Kayden by not caring about anything and covering it up with the cool popular guy façade. Both of them have suffered in silence until one night Callie accidently witnesses one of Kayden’s father’s beatings, steps in, and saves Kayden’s life. It’s from there that the story really takes off.

As well as Callie and Kayden there are also their best friends Seth and Luke who have also had their fair share of problems. All of the characters in this book are deeply damaged and didn’t have the best of lives back home so when they start college it’s a chance for them to craft a new life of their own and start over. So far this is probably sounding like a really depressing read but what I loved about it is how these damaged people come together and create a safe and happy place amongst them really solidifying their friendship. Each character wants to better their life and Callie and Seth even create a list of things they want to do but are afraid to and one thing must be crossed off every day. I loved the idea of this and thought it a brilliant way of facing your fears so much so that I’m planning on starting my own list!

The romance in this book was so incredibly beautiful. I loved watching not only Callie and Kayden’s love but their trust for one another grow throughout the book. They both bring out the best in each other and for the first time in their lives they each have something to live for. This was one of the most achingly romantic, not to mention steamy, books I’ve read in a long time and how gentle and patient Kayden was with Callie made him one of my new favourite book boys.

This book ends on a killer cliff-hanger and I am so happy the sequel is coming out in February because I have to know what happens next! The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden was the kind of book I thought about for days afterwards and raved about to anybody who’d listen. Fans of authors such as Simone Elkeles and Katie McGarry are sure to find a new favourite author in Jessica Sorensen.

Sunday, 20 January 2013

Letterbox Love (18)


Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.


 For Review


Cupcakes at Carrington's by Alexandra Brown
The Last Time I Saw You by Eleanor Moran
Unremembered by Jessica Brody (Proof Copy)
The Last Minute by Eleanor Updale


 Early Birthday Gifts


Shades of Earth by Beth Revis (Already read and LOVED!)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Gorgeous Clothbound Classics Edition)



Another bookmark for the collection! I love owls and this one has been on my wishlist for ages now so I'm so glad to finally have it!


 Bought For Kindle


The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

That’s it from me for another week! If any of these beauties have caught your eye and you’d like to find out more about them simply click on the title and the link will take you to goodreads for a full synopsis, reviews, and to add them to your wishlists. As always thank you to the lovely publishing folk for the review copies and my mum and Ellie @ Musings of a Bookshop Girl for my pressies! If you’re looking forward to a certain book in particular and want to request a review feel free to in the comments and I’ll do my best to get around to the book sooner rather than later. And if you decided to do a Letterbox Love, Book Haul, IMM, Showcase Sunday, Mailbox Monday or whatever else featuring the books you got this week leave me a link as I’d love to check out your books too! ^_^

 Happy reading till next time!

Thursday, 17 January 2013

My Bookish Birthday Wishlist!

So I’m hitting the big 23 next Wednesday so I thought it would be fun to share with you guys the books that I’m hoping to receive for my birthday. I probably won’t get all of these but I’m hoping for at least one or two of them and I also thought this list would be handy for all of those “what do you want for your birthday?” conversations I can just head all relatives on over here! :) I’d love to know if you guys have read and enjoyed any of these, maybe your comments could persuade someone to choose one book over the other who knows? So if you loved a book or are looking forward to it please say to give my relly’s a nudge in the right direction ;) Anyway here are the books I’m wishing for. It’s also worth noting that Shades of Earth, The Essence and The Archived were also originally on this list but my mum has already snatched them up and I might have received and read one already, ooops! Thanks mum!


Altered by Jennifer Rush 
Currently Available On: The Book Depository and Amazon
Synopsis 
"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"

Why I Want It- Four hot genetically altered to perfection boys? Yes please! Plus I've read several good reviews from blogger friends. This one is pretty high on my list!



The Valentine's Card by Juliet Ashton 
Currently Available On: The Book Depository and Amazon  (5 to 9 day dispatch)
Synopsis 
"The Valentine's card was meant to be Orla's fairy tale ending, but really, it was only the beginning . . .

Orla adores her actor boyfriend, Sim, who's away filming a sumptuous costume drama. Although the long-distance relationship means that she can eat toast for dinner and watch as much reality TV as she likes, she misses him like crazy.

But Valentine's Day changes everything . . . The same morning Orla learns that Sim has died, she receives a card from him. As Orla travels from Ireland to London, to live and breathe Sim's final moments, can she bring herself to open the Valentine's card and read his final message?"

Why I Want It- This sounds beautiful yet heartbreaking and I'd really love to have it for my Valentine's Day read.


Splintered by A. G. Howard 
Currently Available On: Amazon 9-12 day dispatch
Synopsis 
"Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family.

She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own."

Why I Want It- This sounds brilliant but I haven't seen it ANYWHERE it seems to be hard to get hold of which is odd seems as it came out on the 1st :S


Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher 
Currently Available On: The Book Depository and Amazon 
Synopsis 
"Secrets, romance, murder and lies: Zoe shares a terrible secret in a letter to a stranger on death row in this second novel from the author of the bestselling debut, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.

Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret—a dark and terrible secret that she can't confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder. 

Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can—in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal."

Why I Want It: Another one high on my list, I need to know what Zoe's terrible secret is. Nuff said.


The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken 
Currently Available On: The Book Depository and Amazon 
Synopsis 
"When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

 Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living."

Why I Want It: This sounds epic! I've also heard countless times how good Alexandra Bracken's books are.

Those are the books! There’s not really much else I want for my birthday but books are always welcome or Amazon Gift Cards because there are so many February releases I’m craving that I could use them for pre-orders. I’ll of course be doing some kind of haul so you guys can see if I get any of these and remember to shout out your favourites to my relatives in the comments, that should get their attention! ;)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 
Blog design by Imagination Designs using images from the Valentine Owls and Valentine's Day clip art kits by Pink Pueblo