Bad Boy vs. Good Boy for #YABookChat + Last Chance for Giveaway!!

On the last #YABookChat our Love Triangle chat got going on the track of the

Right Guy vs. Bad Guy.  In so many ways we hope that the right guy will be the winner,

the one to win her heart.  Secretly we srceam, swoon and pine over the bad guy.  The

one that says all the wrong things and pushes the girl away.  Sometimes it is for her own

good and sometimes it is all a game.  The trouble is half the time we aren't sure exactly who

we want to win her heart and when we become sure we hope for him, argue with others

about the rightness of the choice and become determined that he is the only option.

So up for debate is who do you tend to go for?

Why the bad boy?

Why the good boy?

What makes you hope for one or the other?

#YABookChat start @ 9pm EST Wednesday!

Also this is your last chance to gain extra entries into the Pulse by Kailin Gow giveaway!

If you can't make it to the Chat there is a comment option for you :) If you come to the 

chat you can get your extra entries after you show up!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Sweet Evil - By Wendy Higgins

Author: Wendy Higgins

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Website

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Release Date: 5/1/2012

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Purchase Info: Amazon

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

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First Thought: This is the Red Bull of books!

There may be some of you who are like, ‘What the heck doesRed Bull have to do with this book?’, well let me enlighten you. Red Bull isthe equivalent of oxygen to me. It’s my life force. Now go back and reread thatfirst sentence……clearly you now understand what I’m trying to say??

First, and foremost, I have to THANK times 1,000,000 Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for pushing this book into my hands (who cometo find out, had it pushed into her hands by Jamie @ Two Chicks on Books). It’s not that I didn’t want to read it, honestly my Cover Whore fell in love with it the first I saw it, but my reading schedule this past month has beenhectic. So, after the reading haze cleared, I jumped head first into Sweet Evil.

Stunning. There are about a million different wordsthat I could use to describe everything about this book. The unique characters, brilliantly thought out back history, and the vivid raw emotions at every turn….I’ll try to tone it down a little.

Anna seems like just your run-of-the-mill, average girl, who just can happen to sense and see people’s emotions. So many different things factor into Anna, one being her overly protective mother who will seldom let her off her leash. Surprisingly, her mother didn’t turn me off like I thought she would. The reasoning behind everything that she did beautifully intertwined with the plot. Of course there was a defining moment when Anna starts to realize that she’s more. From that moment on it was full speed ahead, finding answers is what she wants, and discovering more then she bargained for is exactly what happens!

Speaking of plot, HOLY MOSES! (Bahaha, great play on words there) I can NOT count the amount of times I was left breathless, speechless, and on the verge of tears. And sometimes this all happened at the same time! With Anna being thrust into such an awkward situation with Kaiden (Kai, like Thai), I mean I wouldn’t mind having to travel across the country with him in a car, but knowing how close that Sin is would leave my mind reeling too.

Honestly right now I want to spew from the mouth for probably a good 20 minutes about all the different elements that amazed me, the twists that shattered what I thought knew about the people in this book….and especially how many times I fell in love with these characters over and over again. Well except for Ginger, she’s some what of a snatch.

Ok….now how to wrap up this rant of a review….READ THIS BOOK NOW!

5/5

*REVIEW* WRECKED by Anna Davies

Secrets of the sea have never been sexier than this. 

Ever since the death of her parents, Miranda has lived on Whym Island, taking comfort in the local folklore, which claims a mysterious sea witch controls the fate of all on the island and in its surrounding waters. Sometimes it’s just easier to believe things are out of your control.     

But then a terrible boating accident takes the lives of several of her friends, and Miranda is rescued by a mysterious boy who haunts her dreams. Consumed by guilt from the accident, she finds refuge in late-night swims—and meets Christian, a boy who seems eerily familiar, but who is full of mystery: He won’t tell her where he is from, or why they can only meet at the beach. But Miranda falls for him anyway…and discovers that Christian’s secrets, though meant to protect her, may bring her nothing but harm.     

Seductive and compelling, Wrecked brings a contemporary, paranormal twist to a classic enchanting tale.

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 Torn.  That is the best word I have to describe how this book made me feel.  I read it quickly enough and I am a big lover of mermaids so I expected to like this one.  I'm finding it hard to get the right words to properly tell you how I feel right now.  I want to say I loved it because there was so many times that I did but there are also times that I felt the story was just not what it could have been.  Some places it just fell short for me and as I said it's hard to do justice because there was so many parts I just loved to death as well.  Be prepared to read some minor contradictions as I try and get this out.

  The story started out with a bang.  I mean it just took you off to a place where people grew up together and knew everything about everyone, scandals were never forgotten here and everyone had a place.  The close knit group of friends that you meet right of the bat all seem different but that's why it works.  When the tragity strikes and Miranda looses several of her friends, she doesn't just loose them but what seems like her entire life is lost in the accident.  The accident and the moments surrounding it were extremely well written and it really broke my heart as everything progressed.  It was after the accident when Miranda was trying to deal with it all that I started to feel the story was a bit on repeat.  I get the grief thing but it just seemed that for several pages all anyone did was blame her without using those words or pity her.  No one including Miranda herself talked about what actually happend!

  Miranda was actually a fairly strong character.  She had her moments where she seemed to be defalted and give up but when the moments came I honestly understood.  What she had gone through was enough to break any teenager but Miranda had some experience in the loss department but still didn't make it.  What bothered me even more was how everyone including her own family treat her.  Her fellow peers and teachers were cruel to say the least.  Her Grandmother acted like nothing had happened and she should continue on as if nothing happened and although her and her brother used to be close it seemed to have created a rift between the two of them.  I think this is why at times I found it super easy to connect with her and others times it was a struggle. Overall I liked reading about her strength and how she dealt with her pain.  She may have broken down but it was her way of dealing with everything.

  Christian is one of the more interesting parts of this book.  He is also an original to me and in the Mer book scene as far as I know.  There is so much more going on with him than his heritage and it made me so much more interested.  He is the mystery that haunts Miranda and the question that we all want to know about.  I will let you find out what he is on your own but know that he himself is an original and although he isn't going to openly tell Miranda what is going on and why he is really there.

  Wrecked was overall another mermaid book that I really enjoyed but I don't know if I loved it.  It really was kind of like The Little Mermaid with a twist.  I did warn you that the review would have its contradictions.  There was a lot of awesome world building to start but in some places that just stopped and you kind of were left to figure it out.  Miranda and Christian were awesome characters but most of the others made me want to scream.  One of them actually enraged me.  However if you can get used to the different writing style of Anna Davies and are a mermaid lover you will seriously enjoy this book.  If you are on the fence with mermaids and the likes of them maybe you should borrow it first.

NOTE:   I would like to add a quick little rant about the ending.  The ending is really a cause of most of my frustrations...  I really liked the ending but I disliked it as well.  It tore at my heart and brought up some serious emotions.  It was my favourite part and my most disliked part all rolled into one.

*REVIEW* MEA CULPA by Christine Fonseca {FREE COPY & NEWS}

Everything has a price, especially duty. And love. 

Azza's attacks are always deadly...ALWAYS. But that was before Nesy. And before Mikayel and Zane. Now, death has a new enemy. But, what's the cost for saving a life?

MEA CULPA follows one angel's quest to save his best friend.














  I was super excited to get an early copy of this book.  Especially when Christine had told me that it was about Zane!! I am all about Zane he has a personality that just makes him so memorable and his devotion is a most admirable trait.  This novella being a bridge between LACRIMOSA and DIES IRAE is brief but it makes up for it with intense emotion and information!


  There was so much that I didn't see about Zane.  He always seemed like the rock and this novella made me love him so much more than I did before.   This novella is basically another power house of emotions just a much more condensed and fast paced one.  Reading it made me wonder what Zane was thinking!  I mean he gave up so much to help someone he never told the extent of his affection to start with.  By he gave up so much I mean he gave up everything!!   The depth of what happens in this book kind of blew me away and completely threw me off.  Also has me wondering what the consequences of the actions will really be.


  That is really all I can tell you without destroying the read for you.  If you have read DEIS IRAE or LACRIMOSA this is a total need to read!! If you haven't started yet pick them up.  These books are all extremely well written and are amazing reads from cover to cover.

GET IT FREE!!

So now that you are all excited about this series I have some news!!! You can get MEA CULPA FREE!!

That isn't all you can also get the book that started it all DIES IRAE FREE as well but this one is for

this week ONLY!!  So I guess you want to know where you can get it...

For MEA CULPA you can get it free on Smashwords, or you can visit

Christine's blog and fill out a form and she will send you the file of

your choice!! Just click HERE

For DIES IRAE you can get it on Smashwords.

It is a MAYBE that Amazon or B&N will have it you can check but

it depends on what they do.

Just Released:

LACRIMOSA - Book #1 in the Requiem Series (Compass Press)

“LACRIMOSA reaches out, grabs readers by the heart, and takes them on an emotional journey from the first page to the last. The last novel you’ll need to read to understand true sacrifice.” ~Elana Johnson, Author of POSSESSION

Available now

DIES IRAE - A Requiem Prequel Novella (Compass Press, Feb 2012)

“Dies Irae is the perfect introduction to Christine Fonseca’s Requiem series. The beauty of the words will tempt you, the tragedy of the story will break you, and the love, woven throughout like music through the trees, will haunt you for days afterward. Dies Irae promises a tale unlike any you’ve read before.”  - Ali Cross, author of BECOME 

Other Current Releases:

101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids

Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students 

  

WEEKLY REPORT June 3-9

The Weekly Report is my way of sharing not only what I received for books this

week but also what is going on, on the blog!! So you can find my giveaways and also 

what was reviewed/posted this week.

Books I Bought/Received:

Physical (From Chapters Canada)
Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Swoon by Nina Malkin
Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb
The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott

(From Wal-Mart)
Wrecked by Anna Davies ( review to go up Tuesday!)

This is my pretty Peony that is behind my books.  I love it <3

REVIEWS:

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black HERE

Redheads are Soulless by Heather M. White HERE

BeSwitched by Molly Snow HERE
Boys, Bears and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald HERE

GIVEAWAYS:

CANDID Kindle Copy HERE 

Loving Summer Kindle Copy HERE

Paperback copy PULSE by Kailin Gow HERE

SWAG Giveaway of Epicness HERE

Redheads are Soulless by Heather M. White HERE

Meme's & Others

WoW: Before I Wake HERE

ReVamped Reader Relay HERE

I also have my Blog Button now!!!! You can totally pick it up :) 

*REVIEW* Boys, Bears and A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald

Jenna may hail from the ’burbs of New Jersey, but Green Teen activism is her life. So when her mom suggests they spend the summer at Grandma’s Florida condo, Jenna pleads instead to visit her hippie godmother, Susie, up in rural Canada. Jenna is psyched at the chance to commune with this nature she’s heard about — and the cute, plaid wearing boys she’s certain must roam there. But after a few run-ins with local wildlife (from a larger-than-life moose to Susie’s sullen Goth stepdaughter to a hot but hostile boy named Reeve), Jenna gets the idea that her long-held ideals, like vegetarianism and conservation, don’t play so well with this population of real outdoors men. A dusty survival guide offers Jenna amusing tips on navigating the wilderness — but can she learn to navigate the turns of her heart?

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  This book was actually a lot more than I had expected.  I have been trying to read more contemporary and this book being a bargain buy seemed like a good idea.  The title looked long but fun and the cover seemed fit.  When I opened the book and started I got way more than I expected.

  Jenna was actually a really strong character.  An idealist and strong willed she was used to getting what she wanted.  It's only when life gets a little tough that she realizes that not everything will always go her way just because she is used to it.  Moving up north to Canada was a total eye opener for Jenna in so many ways.  To start I thought she was going to go all whiny poor me on me but she changed that real fast and I settled back into enjoying her and her opinions.  Although she learns that her ideals aren't always realistic, she does learn that you can compromise to get some of your goals met.

  The boys in this book are really different.  Everyone has their secrets and living in a small town make them hard to keep.  Also being such close friends and growing up together makes it hard not to know everyone's business.  There is Reeve, Grady and Ethan.  I know that sounds like a lot of boys (kind of is) but there wasn't a love interest in all of them.  Reeve is the most important of these guys and quite frankly the hottest and the most infuriating of the lot.  He was a really well written teenage boy and there are parts that I love him and just want things to be better than they are and others where I want to smack the back side of his head and say "REALLY?!"

  The story itself has it's ups and downs.  It's really a story about growing up and learning that sometimes when life doesn't go your way you have to roll with it.  This is really why I enjoyed this book so much.  The story was real, it was something that had an experience (not all but some) that lots of people could really relate to.  Even if it hasn't happened to you, you feel it, you feel for Jenna.  It's the kind of story that really means something and you come out of it with something.  The pace starts a little slower but it does pick up and draws you in.

  This is truly a realistic and heart felt read.  It's not an emotional roller coaster but it is meaningful in many other ways.  Basically it was everything I like in a contemporary read and easy to follow.  I had a minor issue with what I felt was a cliff hanger ending.  There are a lot of things left unsaid and I wish I knew what happened when that last page was turned.  Abby McDonald really captured what it is to be a teen and the problems that seems small to us but massive to a teen.  This is an excellent summer read and if you feel like an easy contemporary pick this book up.

*REVIEW* Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

It's all she's ever wanted to be, but it couldn't be further from her grasp...

Dana Hathaway doesnt know it yet, but shes in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides shes had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl, she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she'll never have a chance with...until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn't sure where she'll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again.

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  This was a book/series that I picked up because I loved the covers!  I mean have you seen all of the cover for these books?!  They are absolutely gorgeous.  However I did not get all I had hoped that I would out of this book.  I think that the struggle I had at  the start of this book  was really what got me throughout the entire book.  There was a lot to enjoy about this book but it got off to such a slow start for me.  

  Dana has not lived an easy life and I normally favour characters like that.  I find that it gives them strength and are easier to relate to, than ones that have lived easy lives.  There were moments that I loved her for just going for what she thought she wanted but then I would find it was like she just bottled up everything.  Her indecisive ways had me frustrated beyond belief at times.  The moments when she stepped up and went for what she wanted or what she thought was right I loved her!  When she puts her mind to something she is a fantastic character.

  The love in this book really left a lot to be desired.  Not that there wasn't hot characters, the guys in this book are SMOKING!! They are fey men so what do you really expect.  I wish that there had been a little more on Keane.  I really liked him.  He was kind of thrown in and you didn't get much of him but I was hooked the second I read the description and the words "bad boy".  There is also Ethan but I can't say I was ever really fond of him from the get go.  Although he is attractive there is the traditional fey sneaky ways with him and he got under my skin on several occasions.

  The story itself is actually the biggest draw for me.  There is so much potential and I can't dent that it seriously pulled me right on through the book.  From the moment that Dana reaches Avalon there is a lot going on.  The politics and the way everything is run is really interesting to me.  The fact that Avalon existed between Faerie and Earth is different.  This also creates some different conflicts and many of the situations that Dana finds herself stuck in.

  There is a lot of potential for this series.  I will openly admit that Jenna Black has created a new and world for the fey to be a part of.  The ending really has me hooked and I need to know what is going to happen.  Actually it kind of made me happy that I had picked up the 2nd and 3rd books.  What had a slow start really turned into something that intrigued me and had me wanting to know more.  I just hope that more comes in the next book!!!