Cleo's Mini Review: Catching Fire

Maybe some of you guys haven't heard yet... but here we're doing Mini Reviews since there are three of us who sometimes read the same books and really want to get our opinion out even though one of us has already written a review on that book.  I hope that made sense... 

MarMar already wrote a review for Catching Fire, which you can read here if you want :)

This is probably what everyone else thinks, who's read The Hunger Games:  WHY DOES THIS SERIES HAVE TO BE SO GOOD???  As you can tell, I thought it was great!! Maybe not as good as The Hunger Games, but the plot totally captivated me!!  There's something about this series that just captivates you and makes you want to read more.  I had to stop myself from reading further so I can go do my homework... it kind of became a problem...  But it was totally worth it!  I didn't think it was as good as The Hunger Games because I felt that maybe a little too much happened, but it was great overall :)  I really want Mockingjay right now... Oh, and I'm still Team Peeta!

Cleo :)

Contest Craze Mini Challenge 2: Date A Celebrity

Cindy at Princess Bookie is hosting her Conest Craze right now, and this is her second mini challenge :) If you do the mini challenges, you can win ARC packages!


In this mini challenge, you have to choose a celebrity and make up an imaginary date!

Originally, I would've chosen Jensen Ackles, but he's waaay to old (since there is a like... 16 year age difference), but instead I have chosen Diego Gonzalez, who you've probably seen in Pretty Little Liars, who is still pretty old for me I guess (HA! 5 years age difference ^^).  Here's a lousy reason of why I would choose him, but, I think that he's really cute (my friends don't...) and he's a GREAT singer.  He mainly sings in Spanish, but I managed to find a really good song of him singing in English, called Losing Me.  It's like the best song ever...  But hey, now I can practice my Spanish if I listen to his other songs :P

Ok, here's my imaginary date (it's probably boring because I actually haven't really been on a date yet...... so yeah hahahaha... just another fact from my kind of boring life :P ):

Well, I'd REALLY want him to sing one of his songs to me...  I think his voice is amazing, especially in Spanish.  I think that's about it actually.  Maybe we'd grab some food too :)  And watch an awesome movie that just came out.  OR He's sing me a song, and we'd go to the beach :D

I decided that I will post the song here.  But the music video is kind of weird and I don't really understand what's going on, but I think it's great.  It's better in Spanish, too, but I'm guessing that all of you guys speak English, so here it goes:



Cleo :)

Review: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (1,2 & 3)

Titles: Eighth Grade Bites, Ninth Grade Slays & Tenth Grade Bleeds
Author: Heather Brewer
Dates Released: August 16th 2007, April 17th 2008, June 5th 2009 (respectively)
Pages: 192, 288, 304 (respectively) (paperback)
Rating: 4 out of 5 (averaged)

Description for Eighth Grade Bites:
Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he's being hunted by a vampire killer.


Description for Ninth Grade Slays *Might contain spoilers!  Highlight to read*:
High school totally bites when you're half human, half vampire.

Freshman year sucks for Vlad Tod. Bullies still harass him. The photographer from the school newspaper is tailing him. And failing his studies could be deadly. A trip to Siberia gives “study abroad” a whole new meaning as Vlad connects with other vampires and advances his mind-control abilities, but will he return home with the skills to recognize a vampire slayer when he sees one? In this thrilling sequel to Eighth Grade Bites, Vlad must confront the secrets of the past and battle forces that once again threaten his life.


Description for Tenth Grade Bleeds *Might contain spoilers!  Highlight to read*:
It’s another sucky year at Bathory High for Vladimir Tod. The evil vampire D’Ablo is hunting for the ritual that could steal Vlad’s powers. His best friend Henry doesn’t want to be his drudge anymore. And as if all that weren’t enough, it’s getting harder for Vlad to resist feeding on the people around him. When months go by with no word from Uncle Otis and D’Ablo shows up demanding Vlad’s father’s journal, Vlad realizes that having a normal high school year is the least of his concerns. Vlad needs to act fast, and even his status as the Pravus won’t save him this time . . .


Review:
I'm currently working through the 4th book (as you can see under the Currently Reading ^^ ), so I decided that I'm going to give my opinion on the first 3 books of this series :)
 
So, I am enjoying this series so far :D  I think it's pretty awesome to see through the eyes of a teenage vampire boy going through high school trying to hide his identity as well as find out what his true identity is (besides just being a regular ol' vampire, he's got to be something more to be an interesting character, right?) and fighting his enemies that he's gained throughout the first few books.  Heater Brewer has also kind of used the stereotypical traits of vampires, like being sensitive to sunlight or being "allergic" to garlic.  It's a pretty funny series :D
 
I rated this series so far, a 4 out of 5, because sometimes I just kind of loose interest for a little while until things pick up.  Then things sort of die down for a bit, again.  The plot's kind of like a roller coaster.  One chapter things pick up, then it goes down.  The writing is also okay.  But I like how Brewer kind of writes like it's from the point of view of a teenager.  People might say that her writing's not the best, but it totally fits the book since it is from the point of view of a teenage boy. 

I've gotta admit, I thought that the first book was okay.  It wasn't the best.  I thought it was too short and a little bit slow.  But, the series continued to get better with each book.  The characters are also really interesting and each have their own, different personalities.  Like Vlad and his drudge and best friend, Henry, are the complete opposites, but somehow they manage to make their friendship survive. 

It's a pretty good series if you want something fun and short to read :)  Start out with the first book first though, just in case you end up not really liking it.

Cover Review:
I think that the covers are really cool, especially the vampire smiley faces :D  My favorite one has got to be the one for Tenth Grade Bleeds since it's purple... and my favorite color is purple :P GO PURPLE!  I like how they also show Vlad as this mysterious goth boy :[ (<---- heyy! it's a vampire smiley face! or something like it...)

*Descriptions from Goodreads.com
**Review copies purchased.

Cleo :)

Heather Brewer's website
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod website

Follow Friday (7)

WEEEE!!! It's Friday again!!! *sigh* Another week down, only a million more to go (of school, of course :D ).  It's also Follow Friday today as well, which is hosted by Parajunkee's View!

This week's question is:

What books have bitten you?

Hmmm... TONS!  But, I think that the first one that really got me into reading and opened my eyes into the world of books, were probably *admits sheepishly* the Twilight Saga.  Yeah, I know how most people don't really like it anymore, or haven't really at all.  But I was a pretty big fan, way back in the days, before the whole Twilight craze reached a totally new level.  And now I kind of know why people don't really like it anymore.  Opening up my eyes to different books has helped me realize that.  But recently, it's got to be... nevermind there's too many to name :P

Have a great weekend and a fabulous Friday!

Cleo :)

The Fabulously Fantastic Forever Cover!

YAY!!! The news that I've been waiting for FOREVER, ever since Linger came out... Maggie Stiefvater released the cover for the last (*sniffle*) book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, Forever.

Isn't it beautiful?!?!  It's beautifully breathtaking just like the other ones :)  I love the shade of red that was used and can't wait until it's on my shelf with Shiver and Linger!!!  Although, for some reason I thought that it was going to be purple... but it's just as wonderful as the other ones :D


Maggie is also having a contest here where you can win some awesome prizes that are, of course, Shiver related :D  Also, you can pre-order a signed copy here at Fountains Bookstore.  I cannot wait until July 2011!!!

Cleo :)

Contest Craze Mini Challenge 1: Top 5 Books of 2011

Cindy at Princess Bookie is hosting Contest Craze, and this is her first mini challenge for it!  If you do the mini challenges, you can be entered to win ARC packages :)

Her first mini challenge is to name the top 5 books that you want that are coming out in 2011!!!

Here are mine (in a random order and off the top of my head):


1. Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber

I love the Vampire Kisses Series and I can't wait for more!! I love the characters Raven and Alexander and I really want to see where their relationship will be heading towards... and hopefully, one day, Raven will one day turn into a vampire.


2. Where She Went by Gayle Forman

I love, love, LOVED If I Stay... I recently read it and thought it was amazing.  It's also cool how this book will be from Adam's point of view instead of Mia's... and I kind of wonder why they broke apart... it didn't say why If I Stay, right?


3. We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

I really, really liked The Summer I Turned Pretty, and I just finished It's Not Summer Without You which I liked, too.  So, of course, being me, I have to read the third and last book in this awesome trilogy. 


4. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

                                                               *No official cover yet*

EEEP!  I'm getting so excited now...  The Mortals Instrutment series is one of the best series on the planet earth with so much twists in the plot and suspense.  Even though there were supposed to be only three books in the series and the last one ended without a cliffhanger, I'm sure that this one will be even better. 


5. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I thought that Before I Fall was a really great book.  Now I'm waiting for Delirium, which is completely different from Before I Fall, since I think it seems to lean more towards sci-fi (am I right?). 

Cleo :)

Review: It's Not Summer Without You

Title: It's Not Summer Without You
Author: Jenny Han
Date Released: April 27th, 2010
Pages: 288
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Last year, all of Belly's dreams came true and the thought of missing a summer in Cousins Beach was inconceivable. But like the rise and fall of the ocean tide, things can change--just like that. Suddenly the time she's always looked forward to most is something she dreads. And when Jeremiah calls to say Conrad has disappeared, Belly must decide how she will spend this summer: chasing after the boy she loves, or finally letting him go.

Review:
Honestly, this one wasn't as good as the first one... But it was still very likable and enjoyable... and VERY hard to put down.   So I read it in two days (which is super duper fast for me).  I sacrificed some sleep, read throughout the not-so-busy parts of my day and VOILA!  I was done :D

The reason why this book wasn't as good was because finding Conrad was not that hard.  Like seriously... it took 5 minutes of reading time, after Belly gets the phone call from Jeremiah, to find him...  I think that if I were Belly, I would've known all along where he was.  The second thing was that, I finally realized that Belly's sort of annoying...  She's kind of whines a lot and is a little immature in some of her actions. 

But the good thing about this book was the plot.  OMG, some things were completely shocking.  The parts are more towards the end, but if you like this series, your jaw will drop... just like mine did.  The cliffhanger is very mind boggling and makes you want MORE!!!  Therefore, I cannot wait until the third, and last book comes out.  This book also gets you hooked onto it, wanting more.  I'm pretty sure that if you don't like it, you'll still end up finishing it because you want to find out who Belly will choose, Jeremiah or Conrad.  I think that Jenny Han's writing has something to do with it, because everything sort of flows.  The scenes aren't choppy and just go from here to there.  They all connect together very well, just like all the puzzle pieces put together.

Why can't May hurry up?? I need the third book... PRONTO!  Even though it wasn't as good as the first one, it's definitely a must if you're already hooked onto the series.  The ending is REALLY shocking, which will flow great with the third book, We'll Always Have Summer.  Oh!  If there were "teams" (like there is for The Hunger Games and Twilight) for this book, would you be Team Jeremiah or Team Conrad?  I'm honestly torn between the two... :D

Cover Review:
It's a really cute cover with Belly and Jeremiah and Conrad, kind of like the cover for The Summer I Turned Pretty.  With Jeremiah and Conrad on either side, it shows that Belly's torn between both of the boys, not sure of who she likes better.  Also, Jeremiah and Conrad's have their backs turned against each other, possibly sending the message that they're angry with eachother.  Overall, a really great cover that says so much about the story :)

*Description from Goodreads.com
**Review copy bought.

Cleo :)

Review: Catching Fire

Title: Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Date Released: September 1, 2009
Pages: 391

Rating: 5 out of 5

Description:

There are talks of a rebellion against the Capitol, one that Katniss and Peeta may have helped happen. Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled a rebellion and what scares her more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

Review:Hey guyss! it's margaret. i've been out quite a while, what with high school starting and boy it's been busy! so i've burdened cleo with the making of this site awesome. kudos to her. *cheers, plaudits, etc.* alright so CATCHING FIRE!

it sequels the hunger games and you start on it as soon as you lay hands on it, no joke. what with how The Hunger Games left off, why wouldn't you? as sequels go, usually the excitement dies down, everything plays out more calmly, and yeah it gets kinda boring. not in this book. the drama plays out, you never get tired of turning a page. it's just as high paced as The Hunger Games, if not more, and you start burning through the story.

everything in this book is unpredictable and i love it. you never ever know what is going to happen next. which makes it more real, because life always catches surprises and throws them in your face. Catching Fire not only fulfills this but brings it to a whole other level.

Also, you see a lot more of Gale. (^o^) which is awesome, and well, yeah the love triangle goes on between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. Only because of all the other events that take place, it's a lot more complicated since more than their feelings count in too. And it keeps you on your toes tracking them, and rooting for your "team." (GALE GALE GALE~!!!!!!)

So anyway, Catching Fire is amazing. If you've read The Hunger Games, you're definitely going to ADORE Catching Fire. If you haven't picked up The Hunger Games yet, DO! You won't regret it - it's a fascinating read!

keep reading folks!
margaret signing off

Cleo's Mini Review: The Hunger Games

I've been thinking, since three of us are writing our opinions on books on one blog, and we tend to read the same books sometimes and want to get each and one of our opinions out, I have decided that we'll have Mini Reviews, where we just put our opinion into a shorter condensed version :D 

Today, I'm doing The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which MarMar has already wrote a review on.

I think that I have been living under a rock or something because I never even thought about picking up this book.  I finished The Hunger Games yesterday and thought it was amazing, just as Marmar has said.  I loved the intensity, action and suspense of this book.  Some things were sort of predictable, but the rest was unpredictable and totally shocked me.  Basically, I love, love, looooved it!  And so far... I guess I'm Team Peeta?  Gale didn't appear as much (MarMar's Team Gale) so I don't really know... but I guess I'll have to get Catching Fire to find out for sure!!!

Cleo :)

Review: If I Stay

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Date Released: April 9th, 2009
Pages: 234 pages (paperback)
Rating: 5 out of 5

Description:
In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

Review:
Wow.  This book actually made me cry.  I think it's the first one that made the tears roll down my cheek.  Other books have attempted to make me cry, but it just never happened... I feel like I have to say this, but page 181 is where the tears started rolling, when Mia's grandpa was telling her that she could move on if she wanted.  I absolutely loved this book.  It makes you wonder if you were fatally injured in a car accident, would you want to move on or stay? 

I've been meaning to read this book for a long time... but I didn't want to get it hardcover, but I was lucky enough to win it in a giveaway.  And I'm totally glad I did.  This was an intense book because of the questions of life and death, and if Mia's going to live or not.  I think it was great how Forman was weaving in different parts of Mia's life that really shows you how her family was like as well as Adam, her boyfriend. 

In a way, it was funny to me how Mia was into classical music and is a cellist, but the rest of her family, and Adam, are the complete opposite, preferring rock opposed to classical.  But it's what made me really like her family because despite the differences, they still support each other.  I really liked the relationship between Adam and Mia because they both really cared about each other even though their taste in music was totally different, too.  But it's music that brought them together.

I'm really glad that I got a chance to read this book and it's probably one that I'll read again.  It was haunting and depressing, but it tells you to live life to the fullest because what if one day, you're not here anymore?  I definitely can't wait until the sequel, Where She Went, comes out because the ending sort of left you -not really on a cliffhanger- but it leaves you wanting more (or at least it did for me :D ).  And apparently it's turning into a movie?  I'll definitely be looking forward to that :)

Cover Review:
This cover pretty much tells you what you're going to read because it just looks so depressing, and the dark colors portray the depressing-ness of the book too.  I really liked the hardcover cover better, but then that cover leaves you thinking "Oh, it's going to be a very happy book!" which it really isn't, and that's what I thought all along before I actually picked up the book.

*Description from Goodreads.com
**Review copy won in a giveaway.

Cleo :)

Gayle Forman's website
If I Stay website

Follow Friday (6)

It's Follow Friday today!! :)  This is hosted at Parajunkee's View so those of you who don't do Follow Friday, can head on over and check out some pretty awesome book blogs!



This week's question is:

What is your favorite high fashion book -- translation -- best book cover ever?

Hmm.... This is waaay too hard to choose.  I kind of like the cover of all the books on my shelf.  But if I really have choose one it'll have to be Shiver  & Linger by Maggie Stiefvater :D  It's really different from any cover I've ever seen.



 I couldn't get them side by side...
This will annoy me forever.

Hope you guys have a fabulous Friday and a great weekend!!!

Cleo :)
 

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Waiting on Wednesday is a post where you can write about upcoming releases that you REALLY are looking forward to reading (like I always am :) ).
This week I am waiting for...

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Releasing on: October 12th, 2010

Description:

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

I loved Northern Light by the same author...  So I'm hoping that this one is just as good :D :D  What are you guys waiting for this week???

Cleo :)



Teaser Tuesday (4)

I haven't done a Teaser Tuesday in a while due to lots of homework... but here's one for today :D :D OH!  This weekly meme is also hosted by Miz B at Should be Reading.

This is how Teaser Tuesday works:

• Grab a 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!

"Now the nurses and orderlies in the ICU are very curious and heading toward the doors.  I'm watching it all play out, like a movie on the screen."

-- page 144 of If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Review: Paranormalcy

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Date Released: August 31st, 2010
Pages: 352
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Review:
I really liked this book and fell in love from the very beginning and was glad that I saw reviews on it from other blogs because then I probably wouldn't have ended up buying it!  I really loved Evie's character.  I thought that she was funny and I really liked her personality.  I also liked Lend, and I thought that the name was pretty clever :D  It was cool how he was kind of a shapeshifter, as I've never had a character like that in a book, besides probably Twilight, since the werewolves are technically supposed to be shapeshifters, but that's besides the point.  I LOVED LOVED LOVED the other characters, the mythology and mythical creatures, like Lish and the fairies, and how Evie could see the creepy corpse of the supernatural beings.

The reason why Paranormalcy got 4 out of 5 was because I thought that the writing was just a little weird.  I was kind of like everything was sort of rushed in a way and it didn't really flow.  I felt that it was a little choppy.  Some things just happened too fast.  I thought that some of the things would happen more towards the end of the book, so it'll leave a cliffhanger for the second book, but they happened more towards the middle-ish.

Overall, this is a really good book that goes by kind of fast, but has great characters that I think had great and totally different personalities.  I thought it was pretty original too because it was about a teenage girl working for an agency that looked for paranormal creatures (even though The Mortal Instrutment series was kind of like that...), and that's what caught my attention because I've never really read a book like that.  Although I think that everything was basically wrapped up in the end, I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series, Supernaturally :D 

Cover Review:
The cover is really awesome!! It's cool how it depicts Evie, but the book isn't really that dark or creepy, like the cover probably sugests.  It's cool how some of the font is pink because that's Evie's favorite color :) And the dress that she's wearing is pink too ^^  Although, the pink doesn't really fit the dark background, it's still very cool.

*Description from Goodreads.com
**Review copy purchased.

Cleo :)

Kiersten White's website

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Author: Jenny Han

Date Released: May 5th, 2009

Pages: 276

Rating: 5 out of 5

Description:

Some summers are just destined to be pretty

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Review:
I literally just finished reading this book and had to write this to tell you guys how awesome it was.  I could not stop reading this book.  I think that if I didn't have school or any homework, I could've finished it in one day.  At first, when I saw this book in bookstores, I hesitated to read it because I'm not really into books like this.  I also thought that it would be about a snobby, pretty girl or something like that because the main character's name is Belly (I don't know how that generalization came to be...).  I'm so glad that I decided to pick it up at my school's library because I really liked it.

I think that the main reason why I liked this book was because it was able to suck me in.  I really wanted to find out what would happen between Belly and Conrad and Jeremiah and Cam (yes, that is a lot of boys to deal with in one summer...).  I almost completely forgot about Cam, who was mentioned on the back of the book, because he showed up towards the middle.  I really wanted Belly to end up with Cam... I thought he was really sweet and nice.  Jeremiah was like that too, but was more brotherly since he's known Belly since she was like born.  I think that I kind of understand why Belly really liked Conrad.  It was because he was sort of mysterious in this hot way.

I thought that Belly was a weird name... and I towards the middle of the book, I was starting to believe that Belly was her real name because they never said that her birth name was Isabel, until she met Cam.  But it was a different nickname because they could've just called her Izzy or Belle, but Belly was very original. 

I think that it was really great that Han put little snippets of Belly's past summers, that show how she came to love Conrad and become best friends with Jeremiah.  They also show who her first kiss was, who her best friend was and how their relationship kind of changes to just a friend, as well as how she changed too.

I definitely need to read the next book, It's Not Summer Without You, and will probably have to read the third one that Jenny Han is working on that should be coming out in the summer of 2011 :D

Cover Review:
I really liked the cover and how it had Belly in the middle with Jeremiah and Conrad on both of her sides.  It also had that beach feeling because of the sun light that cut off one of the boy's face and the way that Belly's hair was sort of flowing in the wind. 

*Description from Goodreads.com

Cleo :)

Jenny Han's website

Giveaways I Have Found!

I've been going around to various book blogs looking for giveaways to enter, and I came across a few of these really, awesome and fantastic contests that I'm excited to share with you!!

The first one is at Wordbird.  She is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card and 5 books to the grand prize winner, 3 books to the second winner, and 3 to the third winner in her Megalodon of a Giveaway.  There are several books to choose from such as The Clockwork Angel, Hush, Hush, and Mockinjay.  This one ends October 4th :D

The second one I found is to win the second book in the Caster Chronicles, Beautiful Darkness (ARC), and a bunch of swag at Reading Teen!!  This giveaway ends on the 11th of October just in time for the release!!!! (I'm so excited :D :D :D )

The third one is pretty big too, because you can choose from 4 different packs of books from Harper Teen!!!  This giveaway is at The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really). They're pretty awesome and include books that are going to be released such as Delirium by Lauren Oliver and Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber!!  It ends on October 15th :)

There's another one that's at Confessions of a Bookaholic where you can win a signed copy of Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin!  This contest ends on September 20th, so you have only 2 more days to enter!

These contests are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G so you should check them out now!!!

Have a great rest of the weekend!!!!!!

Cleo :)

Follow Friday (5)

It's Friday!!! And I'm excited because that means the weekend is here!!! Woot Woot!!  It also means that Follow Friday is today :)  And it's hosted by Parajunkee's View :D

The question for today from Follow Friday is...

                  Favorite YA, or do you stick to adult reads?

Well, since I'm still a teenager at heart (and have been for almost 2 years), I stick to young adult.  But, if there's a really good adult book, such as The Help (it was amazingly good!!), then I will read it :D  But it's very rare that I will.  Right now my mom's trying to tell me to read this adult novel called The Historian.  I think I might try it. :)

Have a great weekend!!!!!

Cleo :)

Life is Good Award!!!

I would like to thank Danielle at Every Last Page for passing the Life is Good Award!!

To accept the award you must link back and thank the person who gave you the Life is Good Award and then answer the ten survey questions. Then you can pass it along to other blogs.

I'm going to pass this award to:

Icey Books

Ashley's Bookshelf

Chapter Chicks

1. If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?
I don't think that it really matters if you blog anonymously or not, but it's probably better to blog anonymously for security reasons.  It would be very creepy one day if someone started stalking you...

2. Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side:
I'm not really a stubborn person, I'm more of a go with the flow type of person.  So, since I'm not really stubborn a lot, I can't really think of any incidents.

3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?
A person that's beautiful on the inside and out :D


4. What is your favourite summer cold drink?
Hmm... Orange Juice!! Or water!!! Root beer too!

5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
I usually read or go onto the Internet and work on Booklopedia or do random things.


6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?
There are sooo many things I'd like to accomplish in my life!! I'm only in high school still, so there's like a bajillion of stuff to do!  For example, graduate high school, go to a good college, and get a good job :)

7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever , the shy person, or always ditching?
Well, I still attend school, but probably either the shy person (I never really talk a lot, but if I do, I talk A LOT) or the class overachiever... maybe, because everyone says I'm smart... hahaha

8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life what would you see?
Hmmm *closing my eyes* When I lived in China and got to see all of my very good and best friends every day.  Those were the good times.

 9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?
I feel comfortable being my self in my blog.  Otherwise it'd be dull and boring.  Right?

10. If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

I would sit down and read because no one ever really calls me.  But if someone does it's probably texting or chatting on something like Facebook or Skype.

A Couple Giveaways Here and There

Hey guys!

There are two giveaways that I've found, and the first one has been around for a while, so you probably have already heard of it.  But if not, here's one: Back to School Giveaway Bash at Reading Teen!  In the giveaway, there are a bunch of books and a lot of ARCs.  The giveaway ends September 14th, so hurry up and head on over there :)

There's also one at Shut Up! I'm Reading called a Contest of Epic Proportions, which I'm guessing is pretty BIG!  There are tons of books on the list that you can win, and they might be adding more :D This one ends on October 17th, so you still have a while to sign up for it.

Cleo :)

Review: Evernight Series

Titles: Evernight, Stargazer & Hourglass

Author: Claudia Gray

Dates Released: June 1st, 2008; March 24th, 2009; March 9th, 2010 (respectively)

Pages: 327; 329; 339 (respectively)

Rating: 4 out of 5 (averaged)

Description for Evernight:
She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.


Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

Description for Stargazer:
Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.


But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school.

Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca's secrets will force her to live a life of lies.

Yet Bianca isn't the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning....

Description for Hourglass:
Bestselling author Claudia Gray’s Evernight series continues. In Hourglass, Bianca and Lucas have found a way to be together. But it means lying to the people who care about them the most.


After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, the elite group of vampire hunters led by Lucas’s stepfather. When Bianca’s close friend—the vampire Balthazar—is captured by Black Cross, Bianca knows she has to do whatever it takes to save him. But at what cost?

Hourglass, the third book in this gripping vampire series by the author of the New York Times bestseller Stargazer, has all the romance, suspense, and page-turning drama that have made Claudia Gray’s books runaway successes.

Review:
This series is okay.  I found Evernight and Hourglass both to be very enjoyable when I read them (which was a long time ago...) but Stargazer just seemed to sort of drag and was sort of boring. 

Evernight was a pretty good book.  I was amazed with it at the end, which pretty much means that I really loved it.  I really liked the relationship between Bianca and Luke because they were limited since she was a vampire and he was a human who hunted vampires.  I liked the other characters too, like Balthazar, Victor, and Raquel was okay, too. I don't think that I didn't like anything about it.  The plot or writing was choppy or weird and everything flowed pretty well, so I thought it was a pretty good book.

The problem with Stargazer was that it was basically all about Bianca trying to be with Luke, and it got sort of annoying even though I know that they totally love each other and can never be apart... but still, that was 329 pages of that basically....  Even though the ending is pretty shocking. 

I was going to stop reading the series after Stargazer because I wasn't sure if it was going to get better or not.  But since it is a series and I haven't really never stopped reading a series, I went ahead and bought Hourglass, which I really liked because this time, Bianca and Luke weren't trying to be together all the time, since they were basically together all the time.  And the ending was SOOOOOO SAD!!!  But I didn't cry, because I never really cry when I read books, or even watch really sad movies.  Now, I'm really anticipating the 4th book, Afterlife. 

I'm just going to do a little rant here, but I really don't like how the author named the main character Bianca.  It kind of annoyed me since I would imagine her as like Hispanic or something.  It's a pretty name, but I don't think that it really suits her.  However, this series is pretty good and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes vampires and romance mixed together :[ (hahaha it's a vampire).

I was just wondering, but do you guys like reading reviews of a series?  Or is it just way to long?

Cleo :)

*Descriptions from Goodreads.com

Claudia Gray's website & blog