Celebrating 67 Followers! My Very First Contest!

I'm so excited to announce my very first Blog Contest and I hope you will be excited too! I've been blogging for just a little over a month and I've got to tell you it's addicting. I love writing reviews and hearing your thoughts on the books I've read or ones that I'm looking forward to reading. So without any further rambling here is what I've got going on.
I'll be randomly selecting four entrants to win the following.

I will pre-order you your very own copy of the much anticipated The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare from Book Depository. This portion of the contest will be open internationally, please check that Book Depository will ship to you. There will be one winner for this book. Summary here
international form





A copy of one of my favorite books Evernight by Claudia Gray
Summary here






One lucky winner will win a copy of Amanda Ashley's Everlasting Kiss. Summary here







One winner will get both Witch Child and Sorceress by Celia Rees. Summary here and here


Go here to enter to win one of the above listed books. If your name is randomly drawn first you will have 48 hours to pick your choice of book. The second winner will have second choice and the third winner will receive what is left. This portion of the contest is open only to residents in US and Canada. The contest will end August 12, 11:59 (Eastern time) and the winners will be announced on the 13th (Friday the 13th!).

Book Review: Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Claire de Lune
Author: Christine Johnson
Released: May 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 352
Received from: Shut Up! I'm Reading

Torn between two destinies?

Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.

As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?. Summary from Barnes and Noble

What I thought:
I didn't love this book but it was slightly better than OK. I had some trouble liking the characters in this book. Claire is whiny and insecure even before she finds out she is a werewolf. Once she finds out she gets worse. Her woe is me gets a pretty old, pretty quick. Her mother is horrible not in an abusive way or anything, she is just very COLD. Later in the story her mother's behavior is explained a little, but at times I wondered if she cared at all about her daughter. I feel sorry for Claire's best friend because Claire is a sucky best friend. Matthew, Claire's love interest is okay however toward the end of the book he makes a decision in less than 24 hours that really needed to be thought about for a while longer. So hmmm did I like anything about this book? Sure, the new take on the werewolf legend was kind of cool, and it took me a little while to figure out who the rogue werewolf was. Unfortunately though this one left me slightly disappointed.

Waiting On Wednesday (07/07/2010)

Tempt Not The Cat
Author: J.C. Wilder
Publication Date: August 3, 2010
Age group: This one is most definitely targeted to the adult crowd

What will happen when the hunter becomes the hunted…

A woman whose chances for love were destroyed...

After surviving a brutal kidnapping, Erihn Spencer has spent the past eighteen years living in the shadows. Scarred both physically and mentally, she spends her days writing romance novels dealing with the type of relationship she’s avoided. The night before heading into the mountains to start her new novel, a stranger approaches and shakes her world with one perfect kiss.

A man who could be her savior…

From the moment Fayne kisses her, the desire to possess this shy beauty is irresistible. Thrown together in a secluded house in the mountains, he’s torn between his need for her and the secrets that are destined to force them apart. As Erihn struggles to break free from years of self- imposed isolation, he finds he is the one who is now trapped by his desires, his dark self.

Their worlds collide and old secrets lead a bitter enemy to their door. Summary from Barnes and Noble

I can't wait to get this one and actually, I just noticed that it is already available as an e-book over at Barnes and Noble. So what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Book Review: Wildthorn by Jane Eagland

Wildthorn
Author: Jane Eagland
Release Date: September 6, 2010
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 352
Ages: 12 and up
Where I got it: I received this from NetGalley for review

They strip her naked, of everything—undo her whalebone corset, hook by hook. Locked away in Wildthorn Hall—a madhouse—they take her identity. She is now called Lucy Childs. She has no one; she has nothing. But, she is still seventeen—still Louisa Cosgrove, isn't she? Who has done this unthinkable deed? Louisa must free herself, in more ways than one, and muster up the courage to be her true self, all the while solving her own twisted mystery and falling into an unconventional love . . .

Originally published in the UK, this well-paced, provocative romance pushes on boundaries—both literal and figurative—and, do beware: it will bind you, too. Summary from Barnes and Noble

I really did like this book. Louisa is a strong protagonist and she knows what she wants in life. The only problem, women aren't allowed many freedoms during this time. While Louisa thinks she is headed off to a friendly home to befriend a young lady she is really headed to an asylum where the head doctor is more worried about lining his pockets than caring for his patients. All along I thought I knew for sure what was going on in this book and then wham! I found out I had been wrong all along. I really like it when I'm wrong about where a book is going. This story was strong, had good characters, caught and held my attention, and had an original(to me anyway) plot. Word of warning, this book does have some romance between two young women. Not detailed but it is there. While this did not bother me at all I thought I might mention it for the younger audience and/or parents.

About Jane Eagland:

Born in Essex, Jane Eagland taught English in secondary schools for many years. After doing an MA in creative writing, she now divides her time between writing and tutoring. Wildthorn is her first novel, inspired by true stories of women who were incarcerated in asylums in the nineteenth century. Jane lives in Lancashire, England, in a house with a view of the fells.

Disclaimer: I was sent a review copy of this book through NetGalley. I received no compensation to read or review it.

Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge

So just now, one minute ago I decided to join the Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge. If you ever watched the t.v. show Gilmore Girls (one of my favorite shows) then you know that Rory read ALL THE TIME, okay well almost all of the time. She read a lot of classics and sometimes books just got referenced in the show. Since I just found out about this challenge and it started at the beginning of the year I've decided to join as an Emily. "huh?" you say. Emily in the challenge means that I need to read 5 books from at least two of the categories mentioned in the Gilmore Girls Reading list. If you are interested in joining check it out here. Now I just have to figure out which book to read first.