Release Party, Chat and SONY eReader Contest with Author Ilona Andrews

Release Party, Chat and SONY eReader Contest with Author Ilona Andrews

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Meagan's Way by Melissa Foster

Megan's Way by Melissa Foster
290 Pages

Description:When Megan Taylor, a single mother and artist living on Cape Cod, receives the shocking news that her cancer has returned, she's faced with the most difficult decision she's ever had to make. The love she has for her daughter, Olivia, and her closest friends will be stretched and frayed.

Megan’s illness reawakens the torment of her best friend, Holly Townsend, whose long-held secrets and years of betrayal come back to haunt her. How does one choose between a daughter and a life-long best friend? Can the secret she has been keeping be revealed after years of lying without destroying everyone in its wake?

Meanwhile, fourteen-year-old Olivia's world is falling apart right before her eyes, and there's nothing she can do about it. She finds herself acting in ways she cannot even begin to understand. When her internal struggles turn to dangerous behavior, even the paranormal connection she shares with her mother might not be enough to save her - her life will hang in the balance.

Megan’s Way is a journey of self discovery and heartfelt emotions, exploring the depth of the mother-daughter bond, and the intricacies of friendship.


My Thoughts: What to say about this book? Its about self and life evaluation.How life is complicated and the decisions in our lives effect our lives for better or for worse. I'll tell you the truth. I felt like the beginning didn't fit with the rest of the book. It felt repetitive and very uninteresting. Olivia the daughter was very annoying at times and rude to her dieing mom that I wanted to jump inside and throttle her. I hope kids aren't like that. I'm not trying to bag on your work because I know you put a lot of your hard earned time into it.

Now for the good stuff. Whenever I started getting into the middle it got better and it felt more real. I will give away that if you don't want to cry then don't pick up this book. The past reflections on her hard decisions left you wondering if they were the right ones. Just like in life. Everything is complicated and you just do the best you can. This does have a afterlife type of dealing so if you are prudish about such things than just be warned. My favorite character would have to be Meagan's best friend Holly. She's loving, dependent, strong, and wants a child so badly. The fact that she knew was thoughtful of others and how crying in front of her best friend wasn't an option. That she had to stay strong because it wasn't about her. Not everyone will enjoy this book but some will love it for its ability to make you burst into tears.

Ilona Andrews at Bitten By Books

Come check out Ilona Andrews release contest for their book On the Edge from 09/28-10/04 at Bitten by Books. Ilona Andrews is the author of the bestselling Kate Daniel series.

Conest Winner!

Winner of my Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson is....



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I'll be sending you an email Leslie and I'm sorry that everyone wasn't able to win.


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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, 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!

Mine:

"You're beautiful", he says.
"Shut up," I tell him.
"Why does that embarrass you?" he asks.
"Because I'm not, okay?" I say quietly, snapping out of the moment for a second. "And I'm actually kind of okay with that. So do me a favor and just don't lie to me." Page 111 from Vintage Veronica by Erica S. Perl.

In My Mailbox

I was house-sitting while my brother went out of town and he lives way out in Boofoo so I wasn't able to use the internet for the last three days. So this is coming in late. In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Amazon:



Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Description:
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Contest Wins:

Geektatsic by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci
Description:
Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside)and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.

With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!



The Sweet Life of Stella Madison by Lara M. Zeises
Description:
A warmhearted, delectable novel about what it means to love and be loved.

When Stella Madison's food-loving parents help her land a summer job at the local newspaper, there’s only one catch: she’s expected to write about food. Luckily, Stella has Jeremy, the hot new intern at her mom’s restaurant, who’s more than happy to help. But where does that leave Stella’s boyfriend, Max, who recently dropped the L-word? And could her separated parents be cooking up romances of their own?



Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
Description:
Kara hasn't been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad-boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park....

Amid the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered their young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.

Review:



Vintage Veronica by Eric S. Perl
Description:
Veronica Walsh is 15, fashion-minded, fat, and friendless. Her summer job in the Consignment Corner section (Employees Only!) of a vintage clothing store is a dream come true. There Veronica can spend her days separating the one-of-a-kind gem garments from the Dollar-a-Pound duds, without having to deal with people. But when two outrageous yet charismatic salesgirls befriend her and urge her to spy on and follow the mysterious and awkward stock boy Veronica has nicknamed the Nail, Veronica’s summer takes a turn for the weird. Suddenly, what began as a prank turns into something else entirely. Which means Veronica may have to come out of hiding and follow something even riskier for the first time: her heart.



Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman
Description:
Andromeda Klein has a few problems.

Her hair is kind of horrible.

Her partner-in-occultism, Daisy, is dead.

Her secret, estranged, much older and forbidden boyfriend-in-theory, has gone AWOL.

And her mother has learned how to text.

In short, things couldn't get much worse. Until they do. Daisy seems to be attempting to make contact from beyond, books are starting to disappear from the library, and then, strangely and suddenly, Andromeda's tarot readings are beginning to predict events with bizarrely literal accuracy.

Omens are everywhere. Dreams; swords; fires; hidden cards; lost, broken, and dead cell phones . . . and what is Daisy trying to tell her?

In the ensuing struggle of neutral versus evil, it's Andromeda Klein against the world, modern society, demonic forces, and the "friends" of the library.

From Frank Portman, author of King Dork, comes another unique literary experience. Andromeda Klein is dark, funny, smart, and entirely unforgettable.



To Be Mona by Kelly Easton
Description:
Sage Priestly is seventeen, and she longs to reinvent herself -- to strip away the fat, the past, the crazy mom, the unpaid bills. She longs to be her own version of the gorgeous and popular Mona Simms.

Sage starts dieting and exercising. She gets blond highlights and throws away all of her black clothes. Bit by bit she transforms herself. This is deeply troubling to her best friend, Vern, who is secretly in love with Sage just the way she is. But the boyfriend Sage wants -- the popular jock Roger -- suddenly notices her. And when they start dating, Sage thinks her life is turning around.

So why isn't Sage happier? Yes, Roger is a little too controlling and pushy, but isn't that what boys are like when you date them? What is it about the image Sage has created that just doesn't fit?

Smart, honest, and tough, Sage is a teen with more going for her than she thinks, but she still has a lot to learn.



That's what I got this week. I have a lot of books I have to catch up on reviewing so look out for a lot of stuff being posted this week.

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs; Vamps, Weres, and the Fae

Hunting Ground; An Alpha and Omega novel by Patricia Briggs
Publisher: The Penguin Group; Ace
Published: August 25th 2009
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 286

Summary: Anna Latham didn't know how complicated life could be until she became a werewolf. And until she was mated to Charles Cornick, the son-and enforcer-of Bran, the leader of the North American werewolves, she didn't know how dangerous it could be, either...

Anna and Charles have just been enlisted to attend a summit to present Bran's controversial proposition: that the wolves should finally reveal themselves to humans. But the most feared Alpha in Europe is dead set against the plan-and it seems like someone else might be, too. When Anna is attacked by vampires using pack magic, the kind of power only werewolves should be able to draw on, Charles and Anna must combine their talents to hunt down whoever is behind it all-or risk losing forever...

My Thoughts: Another wonderful book from the amazing Patricia Briggs. While the first book, Cry Wolf, is mainly about Anna overcoming her issues from the past this is more of the Charles and Anna kicking butt. I love how Anna is all soft, sweet, and vulnerable but ends up saving everyone's butts all the time. I liked this quote because it describes exactly what I'm talking about.

"You should have seen her kill the witch a couple of weeks ago," Bran said affably. "Asil had been fleeing from this one for two hundred years, and my son's little 'rabbit' killed her while in human form and armed with nothing more than a knife."
"Asil?" asked Angus, suitably taken aback. "Asil the Moor?"
"That's the one" said Charles.
"Suddenly I don't feel so bad at being rescued by a rabbit," Angus said cheerfully.

You see a lot of Anna's powers being explored. This is my all time favorite part of the book but I will only put a quote.

"Omega," said Charles formally, "it is the privilege of the dominants to protect our submissive ones, the heart of our packs. Alphas are called upon to protect even more strongly. An Omega calls us strongest of all."
Anna gave a puzzled nod. She already knew that, Charles thought. She just couldn't see what it had to do with the situation. She was too used to looking at dominant wolves as threats.
"Sweetie," said the witch, "while you were up here getting the cold shakes from all those nasty wolves staring at you--they were trying to figure out why you were upset and who they needed to kill for you."

I could just imagine this scene with the wolves in their human forms snapping looks at each other debating who they should kill first and Anna has no idea she's doing to this to them. I also love how Patricia always has a mix of multiple supernatural creatures; fae, werewolves, and vampires. And, not just one or the other its all of them. I enjoy all of Patricia Briggs books and I would recommend them to anyone.





















I'm also so excited for Silver Borne, the fifth Mercy Thompson book. It comes out March 30, 2010. I give Hunting Ground 4 out of 5 penguins.

WoW: Suicide

Waiting on Wenseday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine to help upcoming releases get their spotlight.









By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Release Date: January 5th 2010
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH


Summary: Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair, and after a string of botched suicide attempts, she's determined to get her death right. She starts visiting a website for "completers"- www.through-the-light .com.

While she's on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten. When she's not on the Web, Daelyn's at her private school, where she's known as the freak who doesn't talk.

Then, a boy named Santana begins to sit with her after school while she's waiting to for her parents to pick her up. Even though she's made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santana won't give up. And it's too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life. Isn't it?

National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge.




"23 Days and Counting


Dear
___mother
___father
___other

There was nothing you could do to stop me because:

___I’d already made up my mind
___I have been suffering my whole life
___ you were too slow to notice

I offed myself because:

___my life sucks
___the world sucks
___ you suck

Good-bye,
Daelyn"

This sounds really good. I can't wait to read it. What is your WoW?