Saturday, March 30, 2013

Guess What's in my Mailbox #14

Saturday, March 30, 2013

It's been a long while since I last posted my GWIMM. I was busy with school and my projects this past few weeks and it was so stressful. Anyway, here are a couple of packages that relieved my stress in the past 2 weeks. :)


For Review

Won 
Entwined by Heather Dixon


Signed Aurora Sky and Entangled Swag from Tara Anand

I'd like to thank Aimee from Arundel Publishing, Tara Anand and Sandy @ Magical Manuscript. :)

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Book Review: Warm Bodies

Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Genre/s: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Horror, Romance

Synopsis:

R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, noidentity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and stragely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead, and the blurry line in between.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Book Review: Time Between Us

Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Title: Time Between Us
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone
Genre/s: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance

Synopsis:

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning, spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new voice in YA fiction.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

ARC Review: Pitch Green

Sunday, March 17, 2013
Title: Pitch Green (Dimensions of Death #1)
Author: The Brothers Washburn
Genre/s: Young Adult, Horror, Suspense, Paranormal, Mystery

Synopsis:

Trona is a small, smoggy, mostly insignificant town in Colorado. Besides a booming chemical plant, the only thing that characterizes this dismal town is dirt, sagebrush, and an enormous abandoned mansion. 

The mansion is, admittedly, the only notable addition to Trona, but it’s something everyone tries to avoid due to its creepy facade. Everyone except for Camm Smith, who is obsessed with the need to get inside.

Seven years earlier, as Camm herded a pack of little trick-or-treaters past the mansion, her young neighbor, Hugh, disappeared, becoming just one of many children who have vanished from Trona over the years without a trace. Now a senior in high school, Camm is still haunted by the old tragedy and is sure the answer to the mysterious disappearances lies hidden somewhere in the decaying mansion. Joining forces with her best friend, Cal, who also happens to be Hugh’s older brother, Camm naively begins a perilous search for the truth.

As things spiral quickly out of control, and others die, Camm and Cal discover it will take all their combined ingenuity to stay alive. An unseen creature, lurking deep within the bowels of the mansion, seems to have supernatural powers and is now hunting them. Making matters worse, they become entangled with hostile federal agents, who care only about keeping old secrets permanently hidden. Left with only their wit and seemingly ineffective firearms, they know they are running out of time. Unless they can make sense out of the few pieces of the puzzle they manage to unearth, the monster will certainly destroy them, and like so many others before them, they will be gone without a trace.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Pitch Green Blog Tour: Interview and Giveaway

Saturday, March 16, 2013

I'm super excited today! Why? Because it's the release day for Pitch Green(which I totally loved) and we have The Brothers Washburn in our blog for interview. Let's welcome them with a round of applause. *cue applause*

(1.)   Tell us a little bit about yourself/selves?

We are two of 9 sons (16 children) who grew up in the Mojave desert near Death Valley.  For about 35 years, Berk has been a business lawyer working for international commercial finance companies in the mid-west.  For about 25 years, Andy has been a trial practice lawyer in Southern California.  We both have many years of formal writing experience.  While we have kept our law licenses current, we are now writing fiction full time.  We have always been story tellers, first to our siblings, then to our own children (Berk has 8 kids / Andy has 6 kids), and now to our grandkids.  Scary stories are a family specialty.  After we each moved to Colorado, we talked for some time about starting a business together.  A few years ago, Berk started writing a young adult science fiction series, so when Andy also tried his hand at writing fiction, it didn’t take long to come together as The Brothers Washburn on a young adult horror series.

(2.)   What inspired you to write Pitch Green?

Pitch Green is the first novel of The Dimensions in Death YA horror series.  Based on a scary story we used to tell our siblings and friends as kids, this first book combines horror, suspense and mystery at a breathtaking pace, as our protagonists battle to stay alive against an unseen evil presence lurking in an old mansion in a desolate mining town, deep in the Mojave Desert.  The general outline for Pitch Green came together one evening in November of 2010.  We were attending a writer’s seminar together in Manhattan and as we rode the subway from one end-of-the-line stop across town to the opposite end-of-the-line stop, and back again, we mapped out the basic elements we would need to expand the childhood story into a full-length novel.  Andy wrote the first rough draft, and then Berk took it over to edit and expand the tale.  In writing the first book, the ground work was laid for the sequels and prequels of that series.

(3.)   In 5 sentences, describe what Pitch Green is all about?

In Pitch Green, we meet two teenagers, Camm and Cal, who are destined by their wit, pluck and luck (not always good) to become the balancing force in this world against monstrous predators that keep showing up around a strange, old mansion.  They must make a stand against the mansion’s bloodthirsty guardian, any alien visitors who might want to come through the mansion in search of easy prey, and the forces of the U.S. Federal Government, who are using the mansion to access unlimited natural resources.  Camm is the brains, Cal is the muscle and together they make a formidable team when they decide to work together.  They are joined by FBI Agent Linda Allen, who is smart, resourceful and not easily intimidated by those protecting the government’s secrets.  They barely have time to catch their breaths or scratch the surface of what is happening and do not understand the nature of what they are facing, so by the end of the first book, they have left a doorway to horror wide open and unguarded.

(4.)   If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

Andy:  My three-year-old grandson, that kid has fun non-stop.
Berk:  There is a lot I would like to do as Barak Obama.

(5.)   If you could talk to Cal or Cammy, what would you say to them?

Andy:  Actually, I do talk to them, in a way.  I try to inculcate my advice to them in the way the story is written.  But I would tell them to keep living life for the love of being alive, and to get a college degree.
Berk:  I would say to each, “You found your soul mate, so quit fooling around.”

(6.)   Cammy and Cal's full names were really hilarious. If you could change your names, what would you call yourself/selves?

Andy:  I have thought about this a lot, because rappers and other celebrities change their names at some point.  Truthfully, I would not change my name at all.  It is still a little unclear to me why my parents named me "Anderson Lark," but I love my name and would not change it.
Berk:  Actually, I like my name and wouldn’t change it.

(7.)   Cammy and Cal did not forget the Halloween when Hughie was lost. What is your most . unforgettable Halloween experience?

Andy:  The first chapter in Pitch Green is based on a true story when I was trick or treating in Trona with my younger brother, Hugh, and he was wearing a sheet as a ghost costume.  As explained in the book, it didn't work well, and he did trip and bang his face.  Fortunately, he wasn't eaten, but when we got home and he pulled the sheet off, his right eye had swollen completely shut.  It was all black and blue, and there was blood running down his face.  I hadn't realized that he had been hurt.  My poor mom was horrified when she saw it and needless to say I was in serious trouble for not watching him more closely.
Berk:  Running through the streets of Trona one year avoiding the older kids who were trying to steal our candy.

(8.)   What did you learn from writing this book?

Andy:  How to write better fiction, and it reminded me of how much fun it was to be a teenager.
Berk:  While writing is fun, it requires long hours of hard work.

(9.)   What's your favorite part or scene in the book?

Andy:  The chapter where Camm is home alone at night and the Guardian creature comes to get her in her own home.
Berk:  When Camm finally figures out the secret weapon and brings down the Guardian in the mansion.

(10.)   Is there anything that you would like to say to the readers?

It's okay to be scared.  When you can feel your heart beating, at least you know it is still beating.  The second book, Mojave Green, is even scarier than Pitch Green.

About the Authors:
Blog | Facebook | Twitter  

Berk and Andy Washburn, aka "The Brothers Washburn," are both lawyers by profession, writers at heart. They grew up together roaming the wastelands of the Mojave Desert, where most of the series is set. Both brothers returned from lengthy and successful careers in the wastelands of the law to write YA horror stories based on the wastelands of their youth. They currently live north of Denver, Colorado. The Dimensions in Death series is merely the beginning of the ingenious and spine-tingling world of the Brothers Washburn. Be on your guard, people, there is a new Grimm in town.


Title: Pitch Green
Genre/s: Young Adult, Horror, Suspense Thriller
Synopsis:

Trona is a small, smoggy, mostly insignificant town in Colorado. Besides a booming chemical plant, the only thing that characterizes this dismal town is dirt, sagebrush, and an enormous abandoned mansion. 

The mansion is, admittedly, the only notable addition to Trona, but it’s something everyone tries to avoid due to its creepy facade. Everyone except for Camm Smith, who is obsessed with the need to get inside.

Seven years earlier, as Camm herded a pack of little trick-or-treaters past the mansion, her young neighbor, Hugh, disappeared, becoming just one of many children who have vanished from Trona over the years without a trace. Now a senior in high school, Camm is still haunted by the old tragedy and is sure the answer to the mysterious disappearances lies hidden somewhere in the decaying mansion. Joining forces with her best friend, Cal, who also happens to be Hugh’s older brother, Camm naively begins a perilous search for the truth.

As things spiral quickly out of control, and others die, Camm and Cal discover it will take all their combined ingenuity to stay alive. An unseen creature, lurking deep within the bowels of the mansion, seems to have supernatural powers and is now hunting them. Making matters worse, they become entangled with hostile federal agents, who care only about keeping old secrets permanently hidden. Left with only their wit and seemingly ineffective firearms, they know they are running out of time. Unless they can make sense out of the few pieces of the puzzle they manage to unearth, the monster will certainly destroy them, and like so many others before them, they will be gone without a trace.

And to celebrate the release of Pitch Green's Release Day, they are giving away $25 Amazon Gift Card.

May the odds be ever in your favor :)


Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Cover Reveal + Excerpt + Giveaway: A Tale of Two Centuries

Wednesday, March 06, 2013
I'm super excited for today's cover reveal guys. This book is one of my most awaited books of 2013 and if you read My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris, I think it's one of yours too. So, without further ado, here's the awesome cover of A Tale of Two Centuries.



Title: A Tale of Two Centuries (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #2)
Author: Rachel Harris
Genre/s: Young Adult, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Alessandra D’Angeli is in need of an adventure. Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, who visited her for a magical week and dazzled her with tales of the future, Alessandra is lost. Until the stars hear her plea.

One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility.

With the clock ticking, Less knows she must live every moment of her modern life while she still can. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?

Excerpt

Glaring sunlight permeates the thin veil of my eyelids. Even though it is noonday, the light is exceptionally bright, at least in comparison to the shelter of the tent. I shield my brow with a curved hand and force my protesting eyes open…then at the sight before me, promptly shut them again.

Sounds become crisper in the darkness. Rumbles, shrieks, wails, and hums. Unfamiliar chirps and impossible beeps. Piecing together my tattered, wilting courage, I take another peek and find nothing is as it should be.

Where my palazzo usually sits is an enormous structure with golden doors and red columns, a metallic roof, and a massive mounted dragon. A pair of terrifying, sculpted beasts guards the entrance. The ground is no longer one of cracked stone or even the damp earth of my garden, but assorted gray blocks etched with handprints, slipper prints, and a series of strange markings.

I stare at the mysterious shapes on the stone before me and gasp as they all at once become clear: Harry Potter, 7-9-07. Rupert Grint. Daniel Radcliffe. Emma Watson.

While a few of the letters are different than I am used to, it is as if my mind is faster than I, readily making sense of it all. Stooping to see the words closer, I place my hands in the indentations below the word Emma and marvel at the fit.

I twist my neck around, hands still pressed into the cool hollows, wanting to share the astonishing news with Reyna. But she and the tent are gone. In their place, an overwhelming crowd in varying degrees of scandalous dress swarms the square, each costume more shocking than the last.

Exposed ankles, exposed legs, exposed stomachs…


About the Author:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels. As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

When she's not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, you can find her homeschooling her two beautiful princesses, hanging out with her amazing husband, or taking a hot bubble bath…next to a pile of chocolate. A Tale of Two Centuries is her second novel.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Guess What's in My Mailbox #13

Sunday, March 03, 2013

So for the 13th GWIMM, I have two books to show you guys. This is my haul this first week of March. 

WON

I would like to thank, YA Novelties and Nicole Sobon for this books and most especially, to Kimberly Sabatini for signing the book and giving me this awesome swags.


That's what I got this week. What you got this week? Link them up here. :)

Book Review: Neverfall

Title: Neverfall (Everneath #1.5)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

A thrilling new novella from the author of the Everneath series!

Jack is trapped for eternity in the Tunnels while Nikki has managed to evade Cole's grasp . . . for now. But Cole is more desperate than ever to find answers about Nikki, his best chance for taking over the throne of the underworld. How did she survive the Feed? Can Cole find another Forfeit like her who can survive it too?

Cole's quest leads him to the other side of the world, to a mysterious, dangerous society known as the Delphinians, whose price for information might be higher than Cole can pay—a price that could destroy Nikki. But when Cole attempts to steal the answers instead, his mission ends in disaster. Faced with centuries in a Delphinian dungeon, Cole is confronted with questions he's been too scared to ask himself: Is he really obsessed with the throne—or is he obsessed with Nikki? And can she really give him a new beginning as the Everneath's king . . . or will she instead bring about his tragic end?

Book Review: Everneath

Title: Everneath (Everneath #1)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Genre/s: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

Friday, March 01, 2013

700 Follower's Appreciation Giveaway!

Friday, March 01, 2013


Yay! I've reached 700 GFC followers exactly this March 1 and I think this is a good sign that March would be an awesome month for me. You see, I am a graduating student this year and I'm really trying to balance out everything. Well so far, it's quite hard but not as hard as I expected, that is why I can still read a book or two. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I'm just hoping I can survive this month in one piece. LOL! :P

Anyway, I haven't done a giveaway for the past 3 months so as promised, I will do one for you guys. So what can you win, you ask? Well, you will have the chance to pick a book of your choice (or pre-order a book) worth $15 USD in TBD.

So here's Le Rules:

  • Open Internationally 
  • Must be 13+ to enter
  • Winners will be notified via email
  • A new winner will be chosen if a response is not received within 48 hours
  • Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  I'm going to check the entries so please follow the directions correctly.
  • Contest ends April 20, 2013

That's all, folks! Enter Now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Behind the Scenes: Interview with Laurie Boyle Crompton

Behind the Scenes is a new blog event of Books For YA! where we spotlight the authors and their works. 

Ladies and gentlemen this is our first Behind the Scenes post and I am very excited to begin this event with a very special guest. Her debut novel, BLAZE (or Love in the Time of Supervillains), was release on February 1 by Sourcebooks and it already got a lot of bookish love from other bloggers. So, let's give her a very warm welcome, Ms. Laurie Boyle Crompton. *cue applause*


Hi Ms. Laurie, if you could talk to one of your characters, who would it be and what will you say to them?

It would definitely be Blaze. I'd take her out to lunch and tell her that she should never try to change who she is in order to get a guy. Also, I'd mention that she should probably run for the hills when Mark asks her out.

If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

Like many YA authors I'll say Judy Blume. She definitely inspired me to write novels for teens. Of course the great thing about this is the fact that I can always go back and read her books as a mentorship of sorts.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional. with whom would it be?

I'd probably switch places with Libba Bray so she could figure out a few plot twists for the next book I'm working on. Although I should probably pick someone like Martha Stewart to get my house straightened up before the show Hoarders comes knocking.

If Hollywood made a movie about your book, who would you like to see play as Blaze?

I always say I'd like to see an unknown play her character since I love the idea of giving a talented young actress her first big break. Of course she would need to have a good sense of humor to pull off the role.

Blaze is a great comics artist, who do you think is her favorite superhero or supervillain?

She talks about her love for Jean Grey in the book, but her favorite supervillain would have to be Magneto. He's not actually evil so much as looking for peace between mutants and humans. Of course he has some twisted ideas for the best way to achieve this!

Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best?

Early on, my manuscript for Blaze was turned down by several publishers which was crushing at the time. Of course I now see that it was because Sourcebooks is the perfect publisher for this book and I'm grateful now for the way everything turned out.

What did you learn from writing this book?

That pressing on and believing in yourself is the only way to ever achieve your dreams. Also, getting a book published is a crazy amount of hard work. But worth it. :)

What's your favorite part of this book?

Definitely the dedication. My husband has been super-supportive throughout this whole process and it reads, "To Brett, who told me once that love is a superpower. And who continues to prove it is true." Also, I must say the book's ending was fun to write.

Do you have a playlist for Blaze?

I actually write in silence, but imagine Blaze would listen to Mumford & Sons, fun, and the Lumineers while drawing her comics.

What are the first three things you did on the release day of Blaze?

2. Went on a four mile run
3. Sat grinning at my computer while friends and family congratulated me online. (I have amazing friends and family!)

Thank you so much for having me! :)



About the Author:

When she was 17, Laurie Boyle Crompton painted her first car hot pink using 40 cans of spray paint. It dried really drippy but looked great when she was flying down the back roads of Butler, PA where she grew up. She now lives near NYC in Queens, but maintains a secret identity in New Paltz, NY where she and her family can often be found tromping through the forest.

Visit her on this site:
Website | Twitter | Goodreads



Title: Blaze(or Love in the Time of Supervillains)
Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Amazon | Book Depo | Barnes & Nobles

Synopsis:

Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...

What do you think about the interview? Have you read Blaze yet? Let me know what you think in the comment section. :)
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