Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday #199

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

VIOLENT ENDS BY KENDARE BLAKE + MORE

Goodreads Description:

It took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others.

But this isn't a story about the shooting itself. This isn't about recounting that one unforgettable day.

This is about Kirby and how one boy—who had friends, enjoyed reading, played saxophone in the band, and had never been in trouble before—became a monster capable of entering his school with a loaded gun and firing on his classmates.

Each chapter is told from a different victim's viewpoint, giving insight into who Kirby was and who he'd become. Some are sweet, some are dark; some are seemingly unrelated, about fights or first kisses or late-night parties.

This is a book of perspectives—with one character and one event drawing them all together—from the minds of some of YA's most recognizable names.


Hardcover, 352 pages
Expected publication: September 1st 2015 by Simon Pulse 
Pre-Order here and here

I'm dying for this one because one of the authors writing it is Kendare Blake. Whom I adore to pieces. Her books are amazing. It is also by so many authors, I don't know them all, but I adore a bunch of them :D So many amazing people. And this one sounds so good! It seems different. And it sounds so creepy and exciting and I like the cover too. Yeah. I think this book is going to be amazing. Can't wait to read.
What are you waiting for on this violent Wednesday?  

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

The Nightmare Charade Blog Tour: Guest Post + Giveaway

Happy book birthday to The Nightmare Charade :D Go out and buy this book.. Can't wait to get my copy. I'm so excited to take part in this blog tour :D I adore Mindee. Oh so much. She's amazing. I have yet to read The Nightmare Charade, but I'm planning on doing so this month, and I cannot wait :D I think it will be amazing and hoping that it will have a great ending :) Okay, I have peeked, but I'm saying nothing, hah :D But anyway. So excited about this book. And so thrilled to be taking part in this tour. <3 Thank you Mindee, and Shane for hosting :) I have this amazing guest post aka interview with Mindee, and I love it so much. Thank you for being the best Mindee. <3 Lots of love. Awesome giveaway at the end :)


Guest Post / Interview with Mindee.

1. What dream do you remember the most?
 
My most vivid and recurring dream happened in childhood. I’m not sure how many readers will remember the original 1981 movie Clash of the Titans, but it was a touchstone of my childhood. I watched it religiously and was absolutely terrified of the Claymation Medusa. Enough so that I regularly dreamed that she was living in the basement of my dad’s house. I would have to walk down the stairs and enter the basement to slay her. 













2. What have been your favorite moment to write in the trilogy?

It’s so hard to pick, but in the end it was probably the very last scene in the last book. I’m a big fan of endings, and I got to write the one I wanted in The Nightmare Charade. It was very satisfying and hopeful and bittersweet. I think I’ll remember it for a very long time.

3. Some memories from when you went to school? Did you go to boarding school? :)

I didn’t attend boarding school, which is probably a good thing. The closest I came to it was eight weeks of Army basic training between my junior and senior years of high school. I have to say those eight weeks were probably the most memorable of my school years for lots of reasons I won’t go into. The highlight of those weeks? Entering the gas chamber. Wait…maybe that’s the lowlight.

4. If you could have one magic power, what would it be and why? 

To fly, hands down. I know it’s not the most useful or powerful of abilities, but it’s been my dream since I was kid. Actually, I used to have repeated dreams about being able to fly. It would be just so freeing to jump and go anywhere—anytime.

5. If you could choose to live in a book world, which book would you live in? :D 

Harry Potter, hands down. Although a part of me would love to live in a fantasy world where everybody still rides horses and stuff, I would hate not having modern plumbing and medicine. But Harry Potter is the best of everything.

6. Is there anything you wish you could change from the trilogy?

Not really. I have a few regrets about the first book, but nothing I would actually change if given the chance. It was my first published book. I still had a lot to learn, and I still do, even now, five books later.  That’s one of the great joys and challenges about being a writer—you’re always learning and (hopefully) improving.

7. Which character, from all three books, do you enjoy writing about the most, and why?

My favorite character is almost always the main character. That’s why they are the main character. But I do enjoy writing side characters a lot, too. My favorite in these books is Selene. I love her harsh, spunky style. She has the best lines and I have a lot of fun with her.

8. Are there new characters in The Nightmare Charade you could share a bit about?

There aren’t very many new characters in this book. The only significant one I can think of is Detective Valentine. He’s brought in to investigate a crime that’s a bit too big and important for Sheriff Brackenberry. A little tidbit here, his name is in honor of the video games Resident Evil. There’s a little bit of a zombie-ish theme in this book. Another new minor character also has a fun name—Deanna Ackles. Clearly, any fan of Supernatural will get the honorific in that one right way, I think.

9. Are there any characters you hated in the trilogy? And if so, why? :D 

Well, I definitely don’t love the bad guys. But I don’t hate them either. So I guess the answer is no. I like all my characters. They’re mine after all, a little piece of my heart and imagination. Even the villains.

10. Would love to know about your favorite books, new and old ones :)

My current favorites include The Scorpio Races, and The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor, The Grisha Trilogy by Leagh Bardugo, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline…there are a bunch more. For older books, I love the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, Bag of Bones by Stephen King, Straight Man by Richard Russo, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Sword-Dancer series and the Chronicles of the Cheysuli series by Jennifer Roberson, The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey. Seriously, I could go on forever.

11. What do you wish people reading your books will remember the most about them?

Hopefully that they had a good time, enjoyed themselves, and want to come back for more in my next books!

Thank you for such a fun visit!

Series: Arkwell Academy #3
Release date: August 4th 2015
Publisher: Tor Teen
Purchase: Amazon | B&N
Synopsis via Goodreads:

The final installment in a thrilling fantastical mystery series.

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough, not to mention the crazy events of the past year. Dusty may have saved the day, but there are many days left in the year, and with an old foe back to seek revenge, she'll need all her strength to defeat him and save her friends. 

Mindee Arnett thrills again in this stunning final installment in the Arkwell Academy series.

Buy The Nightmare Charade: Amazon - B&N - The Book Depository - Indiebound - CDON


YA Author of THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR, a contemporary fantasy coming March 5, 2013 from Tor Teen (Macmillan) and AVALON, a YA sci-fi thriller coming Winter 2014 from Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins). Represented by the fabulous Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary. Addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space.


Official Tour Schedule.

August 4th - 
Mythical Books *Interview 
Carina's Books *Guest Post  
Novel Heartbeat *Review
Paperback Princess *Review & Favorite Quotes (blogger picks) 

August 5th - 
Aphonic Book Reviews *Interview   
Words I Write Crazy *Review 
The Best Books Ever *Review & Favorite Quotes (blogger picks)   
The Bibliophagist *Review 

August 6th - 
In Love With Handmade *Review 

August 7th - 
Paper Cuts *Guest Post 
The Story Goes... *Review & Favorite Quotes (blogger picks) 

August 8th - 
A Dream Within A Dream *Guest Post 

Cress Tuesday #93

There are some awesome news that I must share. Short stories book coming! Stars Above. <3 Yaaay!
I adore sharing these Cress Tuesday teasers every Tuesday. I love finding new teasers to share. It's all kinds of fun. I shall be sharing these until November, when Winter comes out, most likely :) As you know, I adore Marissa Meyer. She is all kinds of amazing. She's so kind and sweet. And she writes such perfect books. I have loved all her books and short stories so far. I'm dying to read Winter. <3 See the very gorgeous cover reveal for it here. I'm also dying to read her upcoming book, Heartless, which will be out next February. Oh. I cannot wait. I haven't been brave enough to re-read Cinder, Scarlet & Cress just yet, but I shall be doing so soon. As I love these books oh so much. They are the bestest. I hope you have all read these books by now. And if not, you really should. I hope you are all enjoying these small and awesome teasers from Cress :) See all the previous Cress Tuesdays here. <3 Have you read it yet?


~

"Fine! As your emperor, I command you to return me to Earth. Immediately." 

Cinder rocked on her heels. "Kai . . . Your Majesty. You may recall that I'm Lunar. 
And Lunars are forbidden from being granted citizenship in the Eastern Commonwealth. 
Therefore . . . you're no longer my emperor."
"This isn't a joke."

~

  
Picking teasers are so hard. But I did love this scene a whole lot :D

Huge thank you to Marissa Meyer and Macmillan Kids for letting me share these gorgeous Cress Tuesday teasers with you all. <3 They are the bestest. Thank you so much. I hope you are all loving the teasers :D I know that I am loving finding them and sharing them with you all. If you haven’t yet read Cress, I hope these teasers are making you more excited about it. <3 I’m sharing all these teasers from my stunning hardcover of Cress. Well, from one of my copies. I might be owning a whole bunch of them :D

Monday, August 3, 2015

The Thickety: A Path Begins by J. A. White



This is my third time reading this precious book. I read it twice last year. And I can honestly say that I will never tire of reading this book. It will never not be exciting and heartbreaking and oh so fun to read. I will always be curious about what happens next when reading it, hih. It is such a fantastic book. And I feel like not enough people are reading this amazing middle grade series. Which breaks my heart. Because this book is one of the best. The writing is seriously gorgeous. The story is beyond amazing.

I have already shared my thoughts about this book twice. But I'm doing it again. Because oh, how I loved this book. Yes, I might repeat myself, but I don't mind. Not reading my previous reviews before starting, though. Reading this book was very easy. The writing is so beautiful and easy to read and I never had a single issue with it. Which makes me so happy. Also want to say that the author is amazing. Adore him :) He is so kind and just such an amazing writer too. I simply cannot wait to read more books by Jerry.

I love how A Path Begins is told from the point of view of twelve year old Kara. She's amazing. Young, yet still so old. She's the bravest little girl. And I adored reading about her again. She's the best. My heart is aching for her so much. Her mom was murdered as a witch, when Kara was five. Just after giving birth to her brother, Taff, whom is now seven. He is so sick all the time. And Kara takes care of him. Sniffs. As their dad is there, but he's sort of not fully there. Hmph. But he isn't that bad, not really. I liked him.

What broke my heart the most about this book is how people treat Kara. They hurt her. They don't talk nice to her. She has only one friend, Lucas. But I adored Lucas. He was such an awesome boy and a fantastic friend. But anyway. The other people in their small village was so mean to her. Because her mom was a witch. And this village.. wow. It is a bit screwed up, hah. So weird. Yet so amazing and interesting to read about. I did not like the people. Yet I loved reading about them at the same time.

It hurt my heart that Kara was treated so badly. Yet she's such a kind person. She still tries to help them all. And she isn't a mean person. And just. I adored her oh so much. Her little brother was awesome too. So cute and kind and happy and understanding. It broke my heart that he was so sick. Sniffs. Yet such an amazing storyline, sigh. I can't get over how good this book is. Having read it three times, I can say for sure that there isn't anything I would have wanted differently about this book. It was simply perfect.

There are creatures in this book. Scary ones. And they were so fun to read about. So much love. We also learn about the forest, The Thickety. Though much more about that in book two. Shudders. This book is all kinds of creepy and a bit scary and oh so heartbreaking. Such mean people. A lot of people get hurt. Many get killed. It was a bit dark for middle grade, and I loved it oh so much. This book is special to my heart. And I'm so thrilled to have read and loved it a third time. I just love and adore this book so much.

There is so much I could say about The Thickety: A Path Begins. And yet words are failing me at the moment. It is such a beautiful book. The writing is amazing. The characters are so well written and so fun to read about. The story is evil and fantastic and I loved every moment. This book is heartbreaking. And I could not have loved it more. I cannot wait to re-read book two and read my very precious ARC of book three. Then waiting for book four, ack. You all need to read this book right away. You will love it.


First review of A Path Begins. Second review of A Path Begins. Review of The Whispering Trees.

Update: Newer and better review of the book can be found here.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

In My Mailbox #196

This week have been busy for me. The road trip to Sweden earlier this week was pretty awesome, though hotel was so crappy and yeah, Sweden is not for me. I bought a bunch of things, lots of candy, hah. But went to get a lot of Capri-Sonne, yet they did not have any of the tastes I wanted. Ugh. So annoying. Other than that, I did like my trip with my mom and sister and nephew :) I didn't have much time to read this week, though, but yesterday I read Overboard, which I liked. <3 Reading more next week, reading LOTS. Currently re-watching the Harry Potter movies, since I finished the books last week :D Just finished movie 6. So almost done. Sobs. So depressing. Love these books and movies. Not many blog posts this week. But I posted another Cress Tuesday. <3 This week I'm waiting on Vengeance Road :D I posted a preview review of Overboard. <3 I also got a buuunch of books this week :D Mostly Frozen books, hah. But other precious ones too. I'm just so very happy with it all. What did you get this week?



Mad Max. Finally got this gorgeous book from Amazon :D It is stunning. Loved this movie so much.
Big Hero 6. I had to get this precious. So much love. All the Big Hero 6 books are stunning. Love this.
Disney Infinity. Oh, fine. I got more of these. I had to. They are gorgeous. Playing it soonish, I think :)
Thor. I did not know he was a bobble head. Hmph. But still gooorgeous :D Better when he stands, hah.
Jon Snow. Gorgeous. But regret buying him. Too damn expensive. And he is so so tiny. What. But love.
The Last Ever After. Personalized hc finally arrived from Books of Wonder :D And US paperback. <3
Everblaze. I loved book one and two. Have yet to read this one, ack. This paperback is so so stunning.
The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden. YAY for getting to buy this one :D So so excited for it.
Vengeance Road Swag. Thank you so much Erin. <3 Pre-order and street team :D So much precious.
Daughter of Dusk. Ack! I must read this book soon. It is so gorgeous. Love the final version a whole lot.
Every Last Word. This was a bit expensive, but finally got to buy it. <3 I very much loved this book.
Cinder + Scarlet. Oh my gosh. Look at these precious Swedish editions I ordered :D SO SO GORGEOUS.



Frozen. So many new Frozen books :D I need just about all of them. Ugh. Precious. Just, STICKERS!
How To Train Your Dragon. Another of these precious tv-show books :) They are all oh so gorgeous.
Big Hero 6. And a few more precious books from this movie. <3 So much precious. Ugh. Love it so.
Hotel Transylvania 2. I need this movie. Now I know spoilers :D These are gorgeous. Oh, how I need it.
The Art of Disney. Oh my god. These postcards are STUNNING. From a few movies :D Tangled too. <3
Frozen. I had to get these cards. <3 I think they are a sort of game. I own others too. But, just, cute.
Plushes. I got these while in Sweden. <3 I want all the plushes from this series. Ugh. They are perfect.
Furious 7. I ordered this score in April. It finally shipped :D Love! Still waiting for the soundtrack. Hmph.



Signed The Last Ever After. Yesss. I'm so so thrilled about this. <3 Thank you Soman :) You are the bestest. And I love my signed book oh so much. It's perfect. I cannot wait to finally read this final one :D


Throne of Glass T-Shirt. Ahh! Thank you so much to Kim @ The Midnight Garden. <3 You girls are the best. So so so thrilled that I won the giftcard for this t-shirt :D It is STUNNING. I love it oh so much.


More Instagram photos here. <3