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A Written Rhapsody: February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Giveaway: Choice of Book and $10 I-Tunes Giftcard Birthday Giveaway


Who doesn't like free books and music? In honor of my 21st*cough*okay,26th*cough* birthday this month and having awesome followers, I wanted to do a little giveaway as a thank you! Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL. Fill out the form below for your chance to win your choice of ANY book(No more than $15...I'm not made of money) AND A $10 I-Tunes giftcard. 


CONTEST ENDED:

Winner: Aubrey Laine Fick



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Tune in Tuesday: Kimbra-Good Intent


Tune in Tuesdays is weekly meme brought to this lovely blog by Ginger at GReads! Love books and music? Check it out!






Thank you Spotify for your annoying ads! For once they made me accidentally click an ad I didn't mind. I adore Kimbra's voice. At first it sort of annoyed me, but then it totally grew on me after a few songs. I love her somewhat 50's styled themed music. I love pretty much anything vintage, so it's pretty understandable why I like her. I will say that some of her videos scare me when she's dancing, but she overall is pretty cool! What are all of you listening to this week?

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Follower Fridays



Q: Activity!!! Take a picture or describe where you love to read the most…


A: This is my view from bed. I usually have television or music on as I read because I need to have a little noise around me. I'm also pretty much ALWAYS cold, so yay for cozy beds with warm blankets. Since I also enjoy watching soccer, this is me most weekends thanks to 4:45 a.m. Premier League games. What are your reading spots?

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Truly. Madly. Deeply. You. by Cecilia Robert


"Four days before Valentine’s Day, Liese Hansfeld is determined to shut the door to her house, as well as her heart, for her annual four days of mourning her one true love. Little does she know her best friend Freytag Meier is just as determined to keep her from her ritual. He’s ready to pick the lock to her apartment door and camp in her living room if that’s what it takes. 
What Freytag isn’t prepared for is the surge of deep-rooted emotions he feels for Liese, but two things stand in his way: the grief and guilt she still clutches close to her heart, and a man who threatens to snatch Liese from under Frey’s watchful eye. Frey is determined to distract her into forgetting her pain. But is that enough to ease her grief, or help her see he can be more than her best friend?"

I regretted this book.  No, I didn't regret reading it silly people! I totally regretted not reading this sooner! I actually really wished I had read it during Valentine's Day for the full affect. I don't really know how, but this whole book is like a warm cup of cocoa on a winter night. Think of your ultimate comfort food and this book would be it.

Liese, our female lead, is going through something that you hope never happens to anyone. Throughout the book we're kept in suspense about knowing what and who she is mourning, but are given little clues up until the very end. I really felt for her character and understood all of her hesitations through the story. Our other main character named Frey is seriously the best friend any girl could ask for. He's so sweet and adorable that I just wanted to clone him and have one for myself. From beginning to end I always felt his love for her to be real and almost childlike. I was able to see that their relationship had a history to it.

The strongest aspect about this story was Robert's writing style. She was able to convey such an array of emotions in such a short period of time that always felt believable. Though the characters were going through hardships, they could still banter with one another and understand what the other was going through without anything said. There was also this underlying tension from the beginning of the book that also added to the emotion of the characters. It was something that was never really mentioned, but as a reader it was something I could always sense.

Seriously, the only issue I had with this book was that it wasn't longer. I wanted more from the characters because I felt for them. I finished feeling incomplete because this book was like a tease, haha. This short story has everything for a sweet romance lover. If you want a cute short read with characters you want to know or already know, I'd definitely pick this up in March!

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tune in Teasers

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

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"It felt as if a wintry wind had swept in behind him, and the sun that still shone on the back of my neck seemed to have lost its heat. I had forgotten my promise to see him this morning, which by itself would have cast me in disfavor, but that indiscretion became insignificant in light of my other misdeeds." ~ Allegiance by Cayla Kluver page 82







Tune in Tuesdays is weekly meme brought to this lovely blog by Ginger at GReads! Love books and music? Check it out!


I've been on a huge 90's/early 00's kick this past week thanks to Spotify, and I must admit I've been reliving the days of boybands. I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit if Nsync were to do a reunion tour, you would totally see me in line. Anyways, this brings me to my song. As a teenager O-Town was my other go to when I needed a fix. Sadly they didn't make it very long in the world of music, but they're still continually played on my shuffle of tunes. As my favorite song never had a video made for it, I went for their last song. I truly did enjoy their sound and wished they were still together. Who were some of your 90's/00's favorites?

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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Cover Reveal: Inbetween by Tara Fuller

Something about the black and white with color accents makes this seem kind of dark and cheery at the same time. I love how they incorporated a bright green since it really isn't a color you see too often in books. What do you guys think? 

Release: August 2012
"Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn't let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul."


Pre-Order on Amazon
Add to Goodreads

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In My Mailbox #5

Hosted By:The Story Siren


Won:
Thanks to Epilogue and Ali Cross for the contest!

BECOME: a novel of Desolation
Gifts:
Another piece to my awesome birthday gift from Amanda at Letters Inside Out

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Friday, February 17, 2012

Follower Fridays



Q: What’s the most unique character name you’ve come across?

A: This may be a popular answer when Friday comes around, but I'd definitely say ANY of the names in the Hunger Games series. They were all different and cool at the same time, but it never felt like the author was trying too hard to be unique to me. Somehow the names just seemed to fit in that type of world. I actually don't care for characters to have unique names because it usually does feel like the author is trying too hard. HG was just one of those special circumstances where it worked. What about you guys? 

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

"It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in. 
And then you're dead. 
When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back. Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. 
As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest. Because how will she go on if there isn't? "

I think the idea of a virus suddenly attacking people may be one of the creepiest ideas ever. I know movies and some books have covered something similar before, but that's initially what attracted me to requesting this book. The setting of a small Canadian island was such an amazing setting to add to the creep factor of this story because of the seclusion it brings on. Though the book had a really slow almost painful start, I enjoyed how realistic the plot felt.

Kaelyn, our main girl, is written to be somewhat of a loner. I don't know if I'd say that I found her character to be all that believable, but I wished I had felt more of a connection to her. That was a main issue with the book for me; I never felt a great connection to any of the characters. I wanted to know more about the secondary characters and never got the chance. I know it'd be hard to do in the way the book was written, but I feel like it could've helped a bit. 

As I mentioned, the letter format this book has only a main character perspective so there's a lot left to understand throughout the book. I really hated that the relationship to Leo was never really explained. I also couldn't tell at points if she was writing a letter or diary, so that inconsistency somewhat distracted me at times. Though the way the story is written from the very beginning of the infections, is really amazing. It sort of reads like a horror movie. We're able to see how the virus begins to affect people and how the desperation in town sets in. 

Overall the idea was pretty good for a new type of story, but the beginning being so slow really put a damper on the rest of the book for me. I don't know if this book will have others to follow, but with the number of points yet to be resolved and sudden ending, the book wasn't anything I can get excited about to recommend you to read it. 

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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tune in Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

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Finally! NetGalley let me get my hands on a copy of Spellcaster a few days ago. Really, I think they made me wait on purpose for a month to torture me. It really isn't nice of them to keep me away from getting my Brendan Salinger fix. Though it is a nice V-Day present since he's been missed. 




"A person- at least, I think it was a person- in all black with a black hood covering the face- was standing amidst the tree, the figure obscured by the shade. 

And then the figure started running toward me."
~Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shulz, page 50
Tune in Tuesdays is weekly meme brought to this lovely blog by Ginger at GReads! Love books and music? Check it out!

I'll be celebrating my V-Day gorging on chocolate deliciousness and watching one of my favorites, (500) Days of Summer. Between Brendan Salinger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I'm sure to be a big pile of saptastic wonderfulness this week! Every time this song comes up on my playlist (sidenote: 500 Days seriously has one of the BEST soundtracks ever) I have to do a little happy dance in honor of the movie. I think it captures what being in love would feel like so well! Okay, I don't know if I'd feel like Harrison Ford, but maybe the female equivalent would be Audrey Hephburn or someone? Either way, this song is filled with all kinds of amazingness that you just can't ignore!




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Monday, February 13, 2012

New Girl by Paige Harbison


"Welcome to Manderley Academy 

I hadn't wanted to go, but my parents were so excited…. So here I am, the new girl at Manderley, a true fish out of water. But mine's not the name on everyone's lips. Oh, no.
It's Becca Normandy they can't stop talking about. Perfect, beautiful Becca. She went missing at the end of last year, leaving a spot open at Manderley—the spot that I got. And everyone acts like it's my fault that infallible, beloved Becca is gone and has been replaced by not perfect, completely fallible, unknown Me. 

Then, there's the name on my lips—Max Holloway. Becca's ex. The one boy I should avoid, but can't. Thing is, it seems like he wants me, too. But the memory of Becca is always between us. And as much as I'm starting to like it at Manderley, I can't help but think she's out there, somewhere, watching me take her place. 

Waiting to take it back."



Like everyone has said, this is a retelling of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I'll be honest and say I'm totally not "with it" because I haven't heard of the story or author before this. I went in reading this story because the excerpt sounded interesting and let's face it, the cover is pretty cool.

The plot to the story was intriguing because as a reader I wanted to know more about Becca. It kept the mystery going and made me want to continue the story. New Girl only being known as that was a pretty smart idea, but it made it harder to feel like she'd be someone I could know. By the end I was pretty tired of it and started disliking the idea.

The character of New Girl wasn't all that relatable to me just because I really disliked how she let people walk all over her without saying anything. I get that she was trying her best to fit in, but I still wouldn't let people treat me like crap. I did appreciate that she tried to make the best of her situation, I just think she could've gone about it a little better. I don't really get why everyone thought she was trying to be Becca since she obviously didn't know her. Most of the secondary characters made me want to hit them. I'm thinking that was done on purpose, so kudos to Harbison on that aspect. I wanted more Becca because though she was a super crappy person in her life, she made things interesting for me. It also made me question why everyone thought she was so great once more stuff came out about her.

After finishing the book, I think it was an interesting take but nothing that would stay with me. It wasn't something that kept me addicted to reading it, but the mystery of the story definitely kept me coming back to complete it. I just didn't feel fulfilled with the characters. I hoped the ending was a bit better, but it did wrap things up decently well. If you're looking for a mysterious read I'd say to pick this up, but don't expect to be wowed through the development of characters.

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Sunday, February 12, 2012

In My Mailbox #4

Hosted By:The Story Siren
Holy cheesus I haven't done one of these in a while! I'll be playing slight catch up today, so please don't think I'm totally awesome and get this many books weekly; I don't. However, I must say this week was a 
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious time in books! I think my family may think I'm running a side business in smuggling books soon. 


Pressies!! Thanks to Amanda at Letters Inside Out (the most awesomesauce bestie ever) for sending these to me as part of my early birthday gift! I can't wait to start on the series!

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Friday, February 10, 2012

Follower Fridays


Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?
Definitely 100's of mediocre ones. Reading one book forever would get boring! I think even if a book is only decent, you can still get something positive out of it. Even if I find a character annoying I tend to be able to dissect the character and see some good in them. I think most books have something to offer, so I'd be able to learn more through reading a number of decent books. What about all you guys? 

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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Giveaway & Review- Swirls by F.A. Hershey


"Sixteen-year-old Julia finds herself leaving her London life behind to move with her parents to the Amazon jungle. 

A native descendant, she becomes familiarized with her own roots for the first time in her life. However, she never imagines she is about to discover much more than her own past but also just how crowded our little planet is... "


I initially chose to review this book because it seemed different from other YA books. This book definitely took me a while to get into. Now I'm not saying it was bad, it just took some time for the story to get going. A slow beginning doesn't usually bother me, but I really didn't care for Julia as a character. She was a tad bit too whiny for me. I understood she was sad about moving, but every time she was sad it just seemed like the same sentence. After a while I really just stopped caring that she was sad. On the other hand, I absolutely loved the secondary character named Lola. She was so cute and bubbly. The male characters in this book are written in a way that they come off as very mysterious. You're always waiting to know more about them and who they are. That is one big thing this book really has going for it, it builds suspense up and gives you more and more questions to be answered.

This would also be a great book for people who enjoy a lot of description. I'm a reader who likes it in doses when it's needed, but this story is very detailed in it's surroundings. The descriptions of the Amazon put you right in the characters shoes. There are a few structural flaws in the book, but it isn't anything that deterred me from reading the story. 

The concept of the story is original and gives you insight to a world that hasn't been explored in books. I hope the following books close up some of the gaps in this first book and get into characters at a deeper level. I believe the book can definitely be a bit more edited and developed, but it's a great start to a brand new cultural viewpoint that I look forward to seeing more of. 

Want to win your very own ebook copy? Fill out the form below and cross those fingers! This contest will end on February 17th at midnight 12 a.m. PST


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tune in Tuesdays: The Pierces- Secret

Tune in Tuesdays is weekly meme brought to this lovely blog by Ginger at GReads! Love books and music? Check it out!

I've been watching Pretty Little Liars throughout the day and this song has been haunting me all day. I don't know if it's just me, but I think of a circus or one of those creepy fun houses when I hear this song. This song just gives me chills. I think if I ever saw any of the people in this video in person I'd probably run the other way. The song alone is creeper status, but paired with the video it's even scarier! I think the sisters did a great job at making me never want to meet them, haha. What are you guys listening to this week?

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Monday, February 6, 2012

Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

"Some secrets shouldn't be kept...
Until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia’s life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades, an okay relationship with her parents, and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown.  But when a mysterious boy named Ben starts junior year at her high school, Camelia’s life becomes anything but ordinary.
Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She’s reluctant to believe he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise.  Instead, she’s inexplicably drawn to Ben…and to his touch.  But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help—but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret."

First off, yay for random library books! I've been wanting this since I saw it on NetGalley a while back but was denied. It hurt my soul when I got that email. Anyways, I finally got my chance to get it as a library ebook and was so stoked to read it this past weekend.

Okay yes, it does have slight undertone of Twilight, but the beginning of this series does stand on its own. I loved the organization of this book because we kind of got a back and forth point of view between our main character, Camelia, and our stalker. I actually wished it had more journal entries from the stalker, but they stopped mid-story sadly. I liked those because it was written in a diary format, and it just added to the creep factor of getting into the stalkers head.

The secondary characters in the book were also pretty cool. I loved Wes and Kimmie's banter as friends, but I didn't feel their characters were delve into much. Though I know there are more books, that was one of the big issues I had with the story; I never felt that I knew any of the characters well. Even the main characters of Camelia and Ben were barely described in my opinion. Their interaction with each other was also odd to me. They liked one another, but I never really felt their connection. I think if the story were a bit more developed on relationships it would've helped.

I also felt the story involving the main characters parents could've either been setup a bit more or just left for another book. It honestly didn't even seem like Camelia really cared about the family issues. Yeah I get she was having a crisis of her own as well, but I think a mother having a near mental breakdown would hit her a bit more than it did.

What I will give Stolarz props for though, is her writing style. It was engaging yet fast-paced and definitely kept me from being bored as I tried to figure out who the stalker was. I love things that are like puzzles, so this book was right up my alley. Every time I chose a suspect I kept second guessing myself with what few clues I had. Though I figured it out kind of early(I watch WAY too many episodes of Criminal Minds), I still wanted to finish the book to see what would happen and see if I was right. The ending was a bit quick for my liking, but with more books out it wasn't a huge issue to me.

I wouldn't say this is a must-read book, but it was enjoyable. So if you're looking for a quick read that you won't want to put down this is a great book! I can't wait to get my hands on the next one in the series to see where the story goes.

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Saturday, February 4, 2012

Author Interview Awesomeness

Letters Inside Out

Wanted to let all the followers here know that there is an AMAZING interview over at Letters Inside Out that I took part in with my best friend Amanda and author Liz Reinhardt. There's talk of edible houses and hot men! You're intrigued now aren't you? Seriously, its filled with all kinds of awesomeness that you don't want to miss!

While you're there, check out the kick-ass giveaway Amanda is co-hosting with her friends for their 3 in 1 Blogoversary! They're giving away an e-reader or $100. Stop reading this post and go now! Really, right now!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

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Friday, February 3, 2012

Wicked Winter Read-A-Thon






Alright, this is my goal this weekend. I've been slacking in the reading department lately and want to get back in the swing of things. Bad blogger, I know; I swear I'm going to be better! Friday is going to be a bit rough to get a lot of reading in, but yay for iPhone apps right? Anyways here's a list of books I'll be attempting to finish this weekend. I'll be updating here throughout the weekend. Whee! Who else is going to be all hardcore with me? Anyone? Bueller?


Page Goal Total: 1300 pages





Deadly Little Secret (A Touch Novel) (Touch Novels (Quality))
New Girl (Harlequin Teen)
The Truth About Guys
Allegiance (Harlequin Teen)
Undeniably Yours (The Kowalskis)
 Sisterhood Everlasting (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Book 6)
Fracture

Friday Wrap-Up:
Deadly Little Secret -182 pages

Saturday Wrap-Up:
Fracture - 272 pages
The Truth About Guys - 240 pages

Sunday Wrap-Up:
New Girl - 320 pages
Allegiance - Only finished 100 pages

Total: 1,114

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