Theme Thursdays: Animal - March 31

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”
This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – ANIMAL
Leave a comment at Reading Between Pages here with a link to your post.

My current read: Vesper (Deviants #1) by Jeff Sampson

A guy, some random guy at school looked at me and thought, What a heifer. What a pig. And then wished, if anyone named Emily had to die, that it had been me. The "fat' one.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Glow

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

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Expected publication: September 27th 2011

From Goodreads:
What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

Glow is the most riveting series debut since The Hunger Games, and promises to thrill and challenge readers of all ages.

Teaser Tuesdays: Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~*Grab your current read
~*Open to a random page
~*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? by Max Brallier

Beyond this page lies unspeakable horror. Bone-crushing, blood-splattering, brain-impaling horror - the horror of the zombie apolcalypse.

Friday56: Live Wire

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find any sentence that grabs you.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or if you do not have your own blog you can post on Freda's comment section.
* Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Closest Book: Live Wire (Myron Bolitar #10)

Author: Harlan Coben

Page 56: "I already told you. It's his baby."

Theme Thursdays: Building – March 24

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”
This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – BUILDING
Leave a comment at Reading Between Pages here with a link to your post.

My current read: Hidden Away (KGI #3) by Maya Banks

"Now tell me what happened the day you walked into the building where Allen Cross was murdered."

I don't consider the sentence to be a spoiler since the murder is mentioned in the synopsis at Goodreads:
Most people would take an all-expense paid trip to the beach in a heartbeat. Garrett Kelly only accepts to keep tabs on Sarah Daniels, who's in hiding after witnessing a murder committed by her half brother-a personal enemy of KGI. But Garrett hadn't planned on falling for Sarah. When he glimpses her dark past, he feels an urgent desire to keep her safe-even as she disappears, running for her life.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Butterfly's Child

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

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Butterfly's Child by Angela Davis-Gardner
Expected publication: April 12th 2011

From Goodreads:
When three-year-old Benji is plucked from the security of his home in Nagasaki to live with his American father, Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, and stepmother, Kate, on their farm in Illinois, the family conceals Benji’s true identity as a child born from a liaison between an officer and a geisha, and instead tells everyone that he is an orphan.

Frank struggles to keep the farm going while coping with his guilt and longing for the deceased Butterfly. Deeply devout Kate is torn between her Christian principles and her resentment of raising another woman’s child. And Benji’s life as an outcast—neither fully American nor fully Japanese—forces him to forge an identity far from the life he has known.

When the truth about Benji surfaces, it will splinter this family’s fragile dynamic, sending repercussions spiraling through their close-knit rural community and sending Benji on the journey of a lifetime from Illinois to the Japanese settlements in Denver and San Francisco, then across the ocean to Nagasaki, where he will uncover the truth about his mother’s tragic death.

A sweeping portrait of a changing American landscape at the end of the nineteenth century, and of a Japanese culture irrevocably altered by foreign influence, Butterfly’s Child explores people in transition—from old worlds to new customs, heart’s desires to vivid realities—in an epic tale that plays out as both a conclusion to and an inspiration for one of the most famous love stories ever told.

Teaser Tuesdays: Hidden Away

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~*Grab your current read
~*Open to a random page
~*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Hidden Away (KGI #3) by Maya Banks

Paradise had become hell. Despite the beauty of her surroundings, Sarah Daniels spent every minute of every day looking over her shoulder and waiting. Waiting to be discovered.

~* page 21

Review: Stolen

Stolen: A letter to my captor by Lucy Christopher

Goodreads summary:
Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

My thoughts: 5/5

This was a very interesting way to tell a story and I enjoyed it a lot.
Written in the form of a letter from the victim to her captor, Stolen is the story of Gemma and Ty, the man who stole her.
It's told in way that makes it feel as if it happening in the now so you are left unsure of the outcome. I stayed up until I finished it because I needed to know how it would end. I think the author handled the storyline in a very sensitive and real manner.

Friday56: So Shelly

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find any sentence that grabs you.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or if you do not have your own blog you can post on Freda's comment section.
* Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Closest Book: So Shelly

Author: Ty Roth

Page 56: Later, she wouldn't remember the sequence of movements that left her lying naked. The only experience she could compare it with was the time when she volunteered to be hypnotized during an assembly at her high school.

Theme Thursdays: Crockery/Utensil- March 17

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”
This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – CROCKERY / UTENSIL
Leave a comment at Reading Between Pages here with a link to your post.

My current read: Stolen: A letter to my captor by Lucy Christopher

Those cupboards contained pretty much the same sort of stuff any other kitchen would: bowls, plates, cooking utensils. Nothing of use to me unless I hit you over the head with a frying pan. It was tempting.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Crossed

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

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
Expected publication: November 1st 2011

From Goodreads:
In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Teaser Tuesdays: Subject Seven

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~*Grab your current read
~*Open to a random page
~*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Subject Seven by James A. Moore

He had believed the Other was dead and gone. He began to build a proper life for himself, to make connections and get himself set up, despite his age. He'd had the reins and full control and it had been amazing-liberating! But now the Other was back, stealing his world from him.

~* page 47

Win Five Signed Copies of Popular YA Reads!

Beth Revis' author of Across The Universe is having a fantastic contest.
For a chance to win signed copies of five popular YA books, enter HERE.


THE ETERNAL ONES by Kiersten Miller
THE REPLACEMENT by Brenna Yovanoff
NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer
MATCHED by Allie Condie
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis

Contest is open from March 11-21. Winners announced March 21.

Friday56: After Twilight: Walking with the Dead

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find any sentence that grabs you.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or if you do not have your own blog you can post on Freda's comment section.
* Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Closest Book: After Twilight: Walking with the Dead

Author: Travis Adkins

Page 56: (There is an illustration on page 56 so this is from page 57.)
Vaughn Winters awoke on a rickety metal gurney. It was very, very cold, and there was no padding underneath him or even a blanket laid over him to keep him warm.

Mini Challenge - Name Your Star

Princess Bookie, is hosting Contest Craze as I mentioned in an earlier post found HERE

Today's Mini Challenge is Name Your Star!
Imagine You Just Won A Contest Consisting Of A Date (Dinner and a Movie) with a TV or Movie Character. (Cartoon characters are exempt.)

Mission:
- Write A Blog Post Telling Who You Would Choose
- Explain Why You Choose Them
- Be Creative In Your Post (maybe include a picture of said person or what you would order for dinner).

My character choice is Karl Agathon AKA Helo from Battlestar Galactica.



I could list all his wonderful qualities such as his sense of righting any injustice or how he loved someone whole-heartedly even if others didn't agree or understand.
But... just look at him! Isn't that reason enough? MEOW!

Theme Thursdays: Vehicle - March 10

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”
This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – VEHICLE
Leave a comment at Reading Between Pages here with a link to your post.

My current read: Secrets and Shadows (13 to Life #2) by Shannon Delany

A swarm of uniformed officers mount the porch stairs, as one unmarked SUV slips silently past the house, daring to scatter the darkness with its piercing headlights.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Eve

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

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Eve (The Eve Trilogy #1) by Anna Carey
Expected publication: October 4th 2011

From Goodreads:
The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. Wildlife has grown over once recognizable landmarks, and the New America is ruled by a controlling King who will stop at nothing to rebuild the nation—including enslaving its boys and turning its girls into broodmares.

Princess Bookie's Contest Craze

Princess Bookie's Contest Craze runs from March 9th-April 10th this year with one contest per day until the finale blowout in April. (randomorg to determine winners.)

A few general rules for all the contests:
- One Entry Per Person Per Contest
- Please Leave A Way to contact you with each entry-email address.
No Email = NoEntry.
- If A Form is required, fill out the form!
- Please follow the rules.
- You Do Not Have To Enter All Contests, Enter The Ones You Want.
- Please Read and only Enter Contests Open To Your Country.
- Mini Challenges will be random and very short! Will only last a few days so get your entries in quickly.

Please Donate If Possible to help with Shipping!
See Info - HERE on how to donate.

Teaser Tuesdays: The Iron Queen

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~*Grab your current read
~*Open to a random page
~*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa

In the end, it didn't matter. A simple wish wouldn't save us from what we had to do, and my mind was made up.

~* page 131

Friday56: Empty

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find any sentence that grabs you.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or if you do not have your own blog you can post on Freda's comment section.
* Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Closest Book: Empty

Author: Suzanne Weyn

Page 56: Down in the parking lot, motors revved but wouldn't start.

Theme Thursdays: Furniture - March 3

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”
This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – FURNITURE
Leave a comment at Reading Between Pages here with a link to your post.

My current read: Poisoned Kisses by Stephanie Draven

The hotel room was nothing like the plush accommodations of Marco's penthouse in Naples, but there was a clean bed, a chair and a water basin. It was all they would need.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Away

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

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Away (The Line #2) by Teri Hall
Expected publication: September 15th 2011

From Goodreads:
Rachel’s adventure continues when she Crosses into the mysterious territory known as Away.

Books read - February + Pick of the Month

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
XVI by Julia Karr
The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neal Shusterman
Over the Moon by Diane Daniels
Trapped by Michael Northrop
Gentlemen by Michael Northrop
The King’s Dragon by Carolyn Jewel (short story)
Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver
The Thirteenth Chime (Sense of Truth, #1) by Emma Michaels
Sapphique (Incarceron, #2) by Catherine Fisher

Since I already wrote a review for Delirium, I think I'll choose Trapped by Michael Northrop as my pick of the month.
I enjoy survival stories, probably because I would most likely be the first to die for some ditzy reason.
The story revolves around a snowfall turning into a live or die situation for seven teenagers stuck inside their high school.
The suspense starts early and builds throughout making you shiver (bad pun) and although it ends rather abruptly, it delivers a fast paced and compelling story.

Summary by Goodreads:

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive.
Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision.

Teaser Tuesdays: Z for Zachariah

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~*Grab your current read
~*Open to a random page
~*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien

I am afraid.
Someone is coming.

~* page 1