[Book Haul] August Book Haul!

So I bought a bunch of books this month. And as always, I have no self control. At all. I swear I'm going to blow my budget every month now. There are SO many books coming out this fall it's ridiculous. So here are the books that I bought/received this month.

• DARKFEVER by Karen Marie Moning
• THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE by Cassandra Rose Clarke 
• THE FIERY HEART by Richelle Mead
• DANGEROUS GIRLS by Abigail Haas
• OPPOSITION by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• LUX:BEGINNINGS by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• HORRORSTÖR by Grady Hendrix

Thank you so much to Quirk Books for sending me Horrorstor! I'm definitely excited to read it. I mean. It's about a haunted Ikea-like store. Horrorstor comes out September 23rd.

I binge read the second and third books in the Bloodlines series and I NEEDED to read the next one. I've read it now and now I need Silver Shadows. All my copies of the Bloodlines books are in paperback, so I kind of have to wait until it comes out in paperback. :( I really need to read it. Like. NEED.

If you haven't already read this post, I went out with my best friend into the city and we visited the Indie book store, Bakka Phoenix. I picked up THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE there and I'm currently reading it. It's pretty good so far and the book is so nice! It has such heavy, nice paper. It's so sad that Strange Chemistry closed down.

I picked up DARKFEVER on the recommendation of Octavia from Read.Sleep.Repeat. It's a paranormal romance with faeries in it and there's Irish accents in it(?). That's all I really know about it, but I love paranormal romance and I'm sure there's a swoony man that I can add to my harem of book boyfriends.

I read and reviewed DANGEROUS BOYS earlier this month and I absolutely loved it. I need to pick up a hard copy eventually, but in my effort to support this fantastically twisted author, I picked up Dangerous Girls. I won't be reading it for a little while, because I'm a little thriller-ed out after reading a couple of them in a row. I'm very, very excited to read this one though, especially after seeing what Abigail Haas had done in Dangerous Boys. I've also heard that people liked DANGEROUS GIRLS better than Dangerous Boys. I wonder which one I'll like more.

And of course, August is the month that the last book in the Lux series released. I wanted to pick up the first book in the series to re-read and found that the bind up was about the same price as one book. I will eventually pick up the other bind up and the other books in the original covers as well, mostly because I'm insane like that. And of course I had to pick up Opposition. I was a little mislead by this book because they include a prequel novella of Dawson and Bethany's story and I didn't realize that a good chunk of the book would be the prequel. And so as I got closer to the ending, I kept expecting more. Once I got to the ending, all I could think was, "WHAT? That's it?!?!?!"

Anyways, I wonder if I'll be able to hold onto some self control in September, considering that Uni's starting and stress shopping is something that I do. Also, there's some pretty awesome bargain books on Chapters and on Bookoutlet. And I have a credit card. . . Yikes.

EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT: 

CAN I JUST SCREAM RIGHT NOW? MY PRE-ORDER OF HEIR OF FIRE CAME IN EARLY. I'M LITERALLY SCREAMING RIGHT NOW. I CAN'T EVEN. OMYGOD.  

Anyways, I'm forcing myself to finish off my September ARCs, before I let myself read Heir of Fire. Instead, let's just bask in THE GLORIOUS BEAUTY THAT IS THIS BOOK.



THAT IS ALL.

Happy Reading!

[Blog Tour Review] The Last Thing by Briana Gaitan

ABOUT

Title: The Last Thing

Author: Briana Gaitan

Series: Hollywood Timelines

Publisher: Self - Published

Release Date: September 2nd 2014

Get it Here: Amazon

Goodreads Page

Source: copy provided for the blog tour

Synopsis:
Plagued by past mistakes in both love and life, Quinn Bardot is in a bad place. With nowhere else to turn, she escapes to LA clinging to the promise of a fresh start.

Chase Crowley is known for being selfish and unbelievably persistent. All he's ever wanted is to become a successful actor. But now that he is about to have it all, he finds that something is still missing. Money and fame isn't what he expected.

After a fervent encounter, the two of them are thrown into a situation that neither is prepared for. Can Quinn extinguish her fears and let Chase in? Can Chase learn to put someone else's needs before his own?

The Last Thing is a novel all about love, Hollywood, and accepting what life throws at you even if it is the last thing you want.

(This is a New Adult Romance novel & contains language & adult situations. Not recommended for readers younger than 17)

***The Last Thing is a stand alone book with NO cliff hanger ending. It is book one in the Hollywood Timelines series.***

God did I hate the main character in the beginning, but she ended up growing on me, thankfully. I find that a lot of the girl main characters in New Adult books have a "woe-is-me" mentality. It really annoys me to no end.

THE LAST THING switches between the POVs of Quinn, a girl who moved from Tenessee to LA to escape her troubled past and Chase, a playboy Hollywood actor on the verge of making the A-List.

The things that Quinn went through were some bad shit, but throughout the entirety of the beginning, she kept making one stupid decision after the other. I was mentally screaming at her to stop. Man. However, throughout the book she grew on me and I ended up liking her. I liked that she didn't put up with Chase's shit, but also managed to keep her head level enough most of the time to avoid the tabloids and other such things. I've read a couple of "celebrity-dates-normal-person" books before and they mostly lose their shit over the things that they print in the tabloids.

I can't say that I'm a big fan of Chase. Although I wouldn't agree with his lifestyle before he met Quinn, I wasn't particularly offended by it either. He never told the girls that he was involved with that they were in a relationship and when he does start up a relationship, it's clear that he's serious about it.  He says some things that are off-putting, like when he calls her a "raving bitch" or when he tells her to stop being so over dramatic. I find it offensive to tell people how they should feel and how they should be. However, I liked that he's a mama's boy and that he didn't back down from responsibility that came suddenly upon him. Chase is one of those characters, that if they need to be serious, they will be.

I enjoyed the book, clearly, since I read the whole thing in one sitting. Seriously. I just sat there and read the entire thing. However, I felt that the resolution happened seriously late into the book. I wish there was a little more after it just to even things out. The ending was pretty satisfying and as the synopsis says, it's a happy ending and no cliffhangers.



Here's a little teaser from the book! :)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Briana Gaitan grew up in the South, but calls herself a geek at heart. She is a blogger,author,and fangirl who loves Star Wars, Star Trek, and Jewelry (bet you never thought you'd hear those three things in a sentence together) For fun, she loves watching any show on the SyFy channel, relaxing with her family, reading, and listening to indie music (sometimes all at the same time). Briana loves to write stories where there are no limits to the imagination. She is also the co-author of the fantasy Ethereal Underground series.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Ethereal Underground

***GIVEAWAY***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Reading!

[Review] The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello

ABOUT 

Title: The Empress Chronicles

Author: Suzy Vitello 

Series: N/A 

Publisher: Diversion Books

Release Date: September 2nd 2014

Get it Here: Indigo Amazon 

Goodreads Page

Source: e-ARC via Netgalley 

Synopsis:
In this dazzling novel from the author of THE MOMENT BEFORE, one courageous girl seeks keys to the past to unlock the future…

When city girl Liz is banished to a rural goat farm on the outskirts of Portland, the 15-year-old feels her life spiraling out of control. She can’t connect to her father or his young girlfriend, and past trauma adds to her sense of upheaval. The only person who seems to keep her sane is a troubled boy who is fighting his own demons. But all of this changes in one historical instant.

One-hundred fifty years earlier, Elisabeth of Bavaria has troubles of her own. Her childhood is coming to a crashing end, and her destiny is written in the form of a soothsaying locket that has the ability to predict true love. But evil is afoot in the form of a wicked enchantress who connives to wield the power of the locket for her own destructive ends.

When Liz finds a time-worn diary, and within it a locket, she discovers the secrets and desires of the young Bavarian princess who will one day grow up to be the legendary Empress of Austria.

It is in the pages of the diary that these two heroines will meet, and it is through their interwoven story that Liz will discover she has the power to rewrite history—including her own...

Readers of books like Rachel Harris’s MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY will love THE EMPRESS CHRONICLES.

The Love List: Author Autobuy edition!

This is the LOVE LIST: AutoBuy Edition. So these are the authors that I love love love their books and I'll probably buy their books without even having to think about it too much. There are very few authors that I love absolutely ALL of their work, and though I haven't read every single work some of these authors put out, I've read most and I have loved them. If I want to read something I'll probably love, these are my go-to people.

And here are the authors!

• Sarah J. Maas
• Victoria Schwab
• Alexandra Bracken
• Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Jeaniene Frost
• Rick Riordan
• Laini Taylor
• Huntley Fitzpatrick
• Susan Ee

[Waiting On Wednesday] #17: Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

ABOUT

Title: Forbidden 

Author: Kimberley Griffiths Little 

Series:N/A

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: November 4th 2014

Goodreads page

Synopsis:
In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden’s tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden’s turn to be honored. But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart.

Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape—or die trying.

With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself.
Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.

I am so excited for this book. Like. Seriously. If you don't know, I'm in love with this manga called Red River that takes place pretty much in Ancient Mesopotamia as well. It's the only piece of literature that I've ever read that takes place in Ancient Mesopotamia and I'm so excited to read something that takes place in the same era. As much as I think that it'll be a little more sanitized in the book as it was in the manga, I'm sure that it's not quite as romantic in reality. So excited. Oh man. This will probably be my book of the month that I purchase for November.

Happy Reading!

[Blog Tour] Q&A with T.C. Mckee, author of THE BONE TREATY

ABOUT

Title: The Bone Treaty

Author: T.C. Mckee

Series: Seal of Solomon Series #1

Publisher: Bookfish Books

Goodreads page

Synopsis:
A power as old as King Solomon awakens when a seventeen-year-old girl marks the brooding hot abductor ordered to seize her.

Addie Heaton’s not your average high school student. Orphaned at two, she’s spent most of her life reading the emotions of others. It’s a little trick she likes to call color-vision. But lately, a stranger has been trailing her, putting off shades of black and red—colors Addie hasn’t seen since the night her parents were killed—colors Addie never wanted to see again.

But when Addie comes face to face with Conal Reed, owner of the terrifying shades, she learns her stranger’s a little different too. He’s brooding hot, mysterious, and all too elusive. Conal loves to materialize, and then vanish at all the wrong times. Nice.
Not.
After years of keeping her ability a secret, Addie’s found another person with gifts, someone who may know what she really is. But Conal’s not talking. He’s having more fun showing up uninvited, teasing her senses, and disappearing at all the wrong times. Instead of finding answers, Addie finds herself reconsidering ever being alone and naked again.

I was interested pretty quickly after reading this synopsis. I mean, it's not too hard to get me interested, especially when there's supernatural things afoot and "brooding, hot, mysterious" guys who like to tease. Seriously, that's probably all it takes to lure me in. I'm easy.

I had the fantastic opportunity to interview T.C. Mckee, check out the interview below!

! Q&A !

Ri:  What inspired THE BONE TREATY?

T.C.: I would have to say an overactive imagination, other stories, a few folk tales, and so on. Nothing in particular. The story just sort of evolved over time. I wanted to do something different.

Ri: This is your debut novel! How exciting! How long was the writing process for THE BONE TREATY from conception to the final product?

T.C.: Between rewrites, beta readers, more rewrites, countless revisions, tears, mumbling, rocking back and forth in a dark room, and a couple of editors, it took about 4 years from conception to the final product.

Ri: Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what do you listen to?

T.C.: I get too distracted by music. If I do get the notion to listen to anything, it's classical music. Maybe I'm a tad ADD.

Ri: Were there any weird things that you had to research?

T.C.: Oh yes. Lot's of weird things from pirates to Irish folk tales, to will-o-the-wisps, the power grid, to the story of King Solomon. I hope nobody ever looks through my hard drive. They'll think I'm crazy.

Ri: What got you into writing?

T.C.: The love of books and a great story. I began writing as a teenager and the habit has just continued.

Ri: What do you like to do when you're not writing? 

T.C.: I love to read, of course. I enjoy spending time with my husband, my daughter, and spoiling my dog. I also love to cook when I have the time. I'm overall a pretty boring person.

Ri: If you could only have one book with you on a deserted island, what book would it be?

Oh come on. Can't I have a series? If so, I'd want the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. I know. I know. It's not a YA series but it's really awesome and there's lots of sex scenes and romance. I'm gonna need to read about all of that since I'll be alone on an island. You understand. 

Ri: Are you currently reading anything?

T.C.: I think the better question would be, "What am I not reading?" As the acquisitions editor for BookFish Books, I'm busy reading several full manuscripts at the moment, which is fantastic. I love new writers. In addition to those I'm reading City Of Heavenly Fire by, Cassandra Clare. After all that I'm hoping to read If I Stay before I see the movie. I have a feeling that might not happen according to plan. But plans are meant to be broken, right?



Thank you so much, T.C. for taking the time to answer my questions, and yes I definitely understand the thing about Outlander. I only read the first one and it's pretty darn good!

You guys can get THE BONE TREATY now on Amazon!

I'll definitely be looking to pick up a copy some time. Because like I said, it's not really that hard to lure me in.

Happy Reading,

[Review] Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

ABOUT

Title: Don't Touch

Author: Rachel M. Wilson

Series: N/A 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: September 2nd 2014 

Get it Here: Indigo Amazon BookDepository B&N 

Goodreads Page

Source: e-ARC via Edelweiss

Synopsis:

A powerful story of a girl who is afraid to touch another person’s skin, until the boy auditioning for Hamlet opposite her Ophelia gives her a reason to overcome her fears.

Step on a crack, break your mother’s back. Touch another person’s skin, and Dad’s gone for good.

Caddie can’t stop thinking that if she keeps from touching another person’s skin, her parents might get back together... which is why she wears full-length gloves to school and covers every inch of her skin.

It seems harmless at first, but Caddie’s obsession soon threatens her ambitions as an actress. She desperately wants to play Ophelia in her school’s production of Hamlet. But that would mean touching Peter, who’s auditioning for the title role—and kissing him. Part of Caddie would love nothing more than to kiss Peter—but the other part isn't sure she's brave enough to let herself fall.

Perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson, this debut novel from Rachel M. Wilson is a moving story of a talented girl who's fighting an increasingly severe anxiety disorder, and the friends and family who stand by her.

[Character Love] Roronoa Zoro from One Piece

Character Love is a feature that I created to share the characters that I love every Saturday!

I recently read all 754 chapters of One Piece in kind of one sitting over the course of 2 and a half days. It made me remember why I love One Piece so much and seriously, Zoro is by far my favourite character from this manga. I love him to pieces. I don't have a face cast for him, because seriously, it's a manga so it already has a visual.



There are very man reasons why I love him. First off, he's H.O.T. I mean. Look at that smirk and SCARS! He looks so badass. Also, he's a swordsman. He actually fights in a "three sword style." I don't know if that's actually physically possible, but he's very very good at it and it's hot. Zoro is Luffy's first mate and he aims to become the best swordsman in the world. He's also loyal to his captain. Ambition and loyalty: two things that the Slytherin in me loooves. (Also, his hair is green. And I'm a Slytherin. Is this a sign that we're meant to be?) He also has a terrible sense of direction.

Besides Luffy, the main character, Zoro has probably the best quotes in the series. He's a pretty serious guy, though he does have his comedic moments.

"You want to kill me? You couldn't even kill my boredom!"

"When the world shoves you around, you just gotta stand up and shove back. It's not like somebody's gonna save you if you start babbling excuses."

"I got. . . . on the wrong boat!"

"If I can't even protect my own captain's dream, then whatever ambition I have is just talk."

"I do things my own way, so don't give me any lip about it."

“I’m going to be the world’s greatest swordsman! All I have left is my destiny! My name may be infamous…… but it’s gonna shake the world!!!”

A lot of my friends are incredible manga snobs. They don't like mainstream mangas all that much, like Naruto, One Piece, etc. I don't care. I'm not ashamed of my love of One Piece and they know it. This manga gives me ALL THE FEELS. It's seriously great and it's good for almost all ages and all genders. I recommend it to everyone, even if you're just starting out in the manga world.

One Piece is seriously long, but it moves quickly. I hope you guys take a chance on One Piece!

As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer "Red-Haired" Shanks. But Luffy's life changed when he accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber...at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure...one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary "One Piece," said to be the greatest treasure in the world...

Happy Reading!

#RiGoesOutside: Toronto

So if you follow me on twitter or read my Weekly Recap posts, you would know that recently I went out with my best friend, the Biffles, down into Toronto. I live in the burbs, where it takes driving to get anywhere and also because I'm lazy, I still don't have my driver's license. I really should get that done soon.

So the Biffles and I went into Toronto for some fun times and also to explore since we have to commute for university and everything. It was a tiring and fun time. We walked around a lot.

All of my photos are taken on my shitty phone camera and kind of foggy in some places because of my fingerprint on the camera. I couldn't be bothered to bring a huge ass DSLR and lug it through commute and I'm so glad I didn't. There was so. Much. Walking. I should have brought my point-and-shoot though. Oh well. Maybe when she and I go on our next outing.



We walked around the MASSIVE U of T campus some. All the buildings are so old and look so fancy. Nothing as fancy as Europe of course, but it's still pretty old. I love architecture and while I can appreciate old architecture, I'm not a fan of living in it. My thought process usually goes like, "Who has died in this building?" Yeah. I'm so glad I'm not living on Res for that reason.



More architecture in the U of T campus and of course the statue in Queen's Park. This park is where Word on the Street takes place every year and I'm so excited to go, because I used to go every year, though that hasn't happened since seventh(?) grade.



We also paid a visit to Bakka Phoenix, an indie book store in Toronto. Of course I had to pay a visit to a book store while I was down there. While the Biffle is an appreciator of books and loves reading, she's not as insane about it as I am. Trust me. I'm insane. I brought home four books the day before this happened and still bought a book when I visited.

We stopped for coffee at Starbucks before we headed over to the bookstore. I woke up early for this trip. I was freaking tired. I had Starbucks twice that day. (Treat receipt, what up! Also, the blackberry mojito iced tea lemonade is delicious.)



I've never really been to an indie book store before. I've mostly spent my time in chain stores like Chapters and Borders, before it closed. I had no freaking clue how the books were organized in there. I just kept looking and telling the Biffle, "Oh. I read that.", "Oh, I've heard _______ about that." I don't know how she puts up with me when I'm in the book store.



Our last "real" stop was at Momofuku Milk Bar. I've been following them a while on social media and I was really excited to see that they opened up a store in Toronto. They opened up their store inside(?) the Shangri-La, which is this fancy hotel that opened up in the middle of the financial district. I spent a lot of time downtown when it was first being built because I had French tutor downtown. Anyways, I would love to sit down some time and have dinner at the noodle bar.

The Compost cookie is the best out of the three cookies I bought. I ate the Compost cookie immediately after we bought it, the Confetti cookie (not pictured) for breakfast the next day and the Blueberry and Cream cookie later the next day. I also wanted to try their Crack pie, but it's $6 for a slice and it looked kind of tiny, so I didn't get it. Maybe next time!

And so because I was in a weird eating funk that day, I watched the Biffle eat a juicy burger at the Works while I picked at a Caesar salad. Now that I think back on it, that burger looked damn delicious. I hope I get to do something like this again soon, especially now that I'm going into Uni.

Go outside!

[Review] The Young World by Chris Weitz

ABOUT

Title: The Young World

Author: Chris Weitz 

Series: The Young World Trilogy #1 

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: July 29th 2014 

Get it Here: Indigo Amazon BookDepository

GoodReads Page

Source: e-ARC via NetGalley 

Synopsis:
After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he's secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.

The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park...and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

[Waiting On Wednesday] #16: Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

ABOUT 

Title: Trust Me, I'm Lying

Author: Mary Elizabeth Summer

Series: N/A

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: October 14th 2014

GoodReads Page

Synopsis:
Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.

Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.

But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

First off, the first sentence of this synopsis already mentions two things that I love: Heist Society and Ocean's Eleven. The synopsis also mentions lying, con artist and swanky. More things that I love! This just sounds like literally everything that I love. I sincerely hope that it doesn't let me down, because that would really suck. I kind of need this book in my life ASAP, and my wallet is crying already. I mean, look at that cover with the little gun necklace detail. UM. PLEASE, CAN I HAVE?

Happy Reading

Don't Get Mad. . . . Get Even

Hey guys! I'm excited to share with you guys this promotion for a book that I'm excited to read! Here's some info on the book below:

ABOUT 

Title: Get Even

Author: Gretchen McNiel

Series: Don't Get Mad

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

Release Date: September 16th 2014

GoodReads page

Synopsis:
The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil’s witty and suspenseful novel about four disparate girls who join forces to take revenge on high school bullies and create dangerous enemies for themselves in the process.

Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers.

When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose.

I freaking love The Breakfast Club and I'm always a fan of mysteries and thrillers. I'm quite excited for this one.

Also, here are some of the things people are saying about Get Even:

"The suspense that McNeil (Ten) builds should keep readers curious to discover what happens next." (Publishers Weekly)

"A compelling contemporary thriller." (Kirkus)

"A revenge story with murder, mayhem, and Gretchen McNeil’s signature snark? Yes please! Gretchen proves once and for all that revenge is a dish best served deadly. Readers will be immediately sucked into the dangerously intriguing world of DGM and by the end they’ll be dying for the sequel." (Jessica Brody, bestselling author of The Unremembered Trilogy and The Karma Club)

"Don’t get mad, get reading this wild ride filled with twists and turns, revenge and romance, suspense and Shakespeare. I can’t wait to see what Gretchen McNeil comes up with next." (Elizabeth Eulberg, author of Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality)

So Gretchen is doing a massive giveaway when you pre-order her Get Even. She's giving away a signed Special Edition booklet of the first two chapters of the sequel, Get Dirty, Get Even bonus material and a signed Get Even bookplate.

And you may wonder why she's giving away a 2 chapter booklet of the sequel with the first book. Well, in her own words, because a huge, massive, game-changing plot twist is dropped in the very last line of Chapter 2.

All you have to do to get this super cool swag, is to pre-order a copy of Get Even in either the paperback, ebook or audio format and send a picture/screenshot, whatever of the reciept to gretchenmcneil.giveaways@gmail.com along with a valid mailing address.

Submissions close September 15, 2014 at 11:59 PM PST. This giveaway is open to US/CAN residents only and of course you must be of 13 years or older. However, the participating retail stores listed in Gretchen's blog post do ship internationally.

You can get the full giveaway details here on Gretchen's blog.

This sounds like a super awesome giveaway and I may personally enter it too, if I can somehow scrounge up the dough. Haha.

Also, here's a GIF with teaser bits from the book!

Happy Reading!

[Review] The Gateway Through Which They Came by Heather Marie

ABOUT

Title: The Gateway Through Which They Came 

Author: Heather Marie

Series: The Gateway #1 

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Release Date: August 25th 2014

Get it Here: Links to Come

GoodReads Page

Source: e-ARC via the author

Synopsis:
To seventeen-year-old Aiden Ortiz, letting the dead walk through his body to reach the other side comes with the territory. Being a Gateway isn’t an easy job, but someone’s gotta send Bleeders where they belong. Heaven. Salvation. Call it whatever you want. Dead is dead. But when his search for Koren Banks––the girl who went mysteriously missing seven months ago––leaves him with more questions than answers, he finds himself involved in something far more sinister and beyond his control.

With the threat of the Dark Priest's resurrection, and his plan to summon his demon brothers from hell, Aiden is left to discover his identity before the Dark Priest's curse infecting his blood consumes him, and before the world as he knows it succumbs to the darkness of hell on earth.

Read the first chapter for THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME here: http://heathermarieya.com/first-chapt...

[Dear Diary] August 11 - August 16th

Date: August 11th - August 16th

THE BOOKS

So I had to go pick up OPPOSITION from the book store and knowing me, I obviously have no self control. So I picked up DANGEROUS GIRLS in paperback and THE FIERY HEART in paperback. I want to read THE FIERY HEART so bad, but I know I'm going to be wanting Silver Shadows right after, and all my books are in paperback so far. #booknerdproblems. I also received HORRORSTOR in the mail, so thanks Quirk Books!

I then also went down in to Toronto with the biffle for some fun and ended up heading into Bakka Phoenix and browsing. I picked up THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE and I would have picked up the sequel too if I saw it there. I think I'm too used to being in Chapters. I had no idea where anything was. I could probably spend a while in there just browsing though.

Also, because I gobbled up OUTLANDER this week, I'm having a huge hankering for Highlander novels and of course because I'm a cheapo, I've been downloading the free ones on Kindle/Ibooks. So there's that too. 

THE ENTRIES

August 11: DANGEROUS BOYS review

August 12: THE IMMORTAL RULES review

August 13: Bound by Duty Blog Tour Review

August 14: Dangerous Boys Release Day Book Blitz

August 15: Q&A with Rhonda Helms + Giveaway

THE REALITY

I've actually went out a lot towards the later half of the week. I didn't do much earlier this week. I mostly sat around and read and did nothing. I did catch up on some shows. I'm currently really into Rush. I don't think I've ever mentioned my immense love for House. I was so sad when that ended. So not only am I into crime shows, but also medical shows. And no, I'm not into Grey's Anatomy because I've heard that's more about the drama than the medical mystery like House is. 

Last Sunday, I did a google hangout with some cool people, namely being Andrew from EndlesslyReading, Rachel from A Perfection Called books, Amber from The Book Bratz and Dana from Dana Square. It was a lot of fun and I don't know when we're gonna do it again, but I'm looking forward to it! 

On Thursday, I went out with my best friend, the biffle, into Toronto. We were walking around and exploring the city. It was the first time for me to go where I wanted to in Toronto because I wasn't with my parents. We hit up Bakka Phoenix and Momofuku Milk Bar. We spent a crap ton of time downtown though mostly walking. I have a blister on the bottom of my foot and three days later, I still feel pain in my legs when I walk. Clearly I don't exercise. Look out for a #RiGoesOutside post in the coming week on this little trip. :) 

And then on Saturday I went down to the outlets in Niagara. I didn't buy much. Just a bottle of nail polish. It really has to be a certain time to get really good deals. We also went to Niagara On The Lake to get some peaches because those are in season. 

THE AUGUST BREAK

I'm a little too lazy tonight to make a picture of all my August Break photos this week, but you can check them out on my instagram here.

Have a great week!

[Blog Tour] Q&A With Rhonda Helms + Giveaway!

Hello readers! I'm excited to be today's blog tour stop for Rhonda Helms's new book, BREATHE FOR ME. If you don't know what the novel is about, here's some information on the book! Last week I posted an excerpt for this novel that had me swooning. You can check out that excerpt here. Today's blog tour stop brings you a Q&A with Rhonda Helms as well as a US ONLY giveaway fro two copies of her book!



BREATHE FOR ME

by: Rhonda Helms

Release Date: August 5th 2014

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

GoodReads Page

Synopsis:
Isabel’s been cursed since the Middle Ages.

Desperate to escape an arranged marriage, she made a hasty bargain with a demon, asking for liberation from an oppressive husband-to-be and the excitement of travel. But the demon’s “gift” came at a steep cost. Each time he moves her to a new city, her memory’s wiped. No one can touch her bare skin without injury or even death. And she sees the lifespan of every living being (and is, in fact, immortal herself).

All a constant reminder that she’s different than other teen girls.

But New Orleans seems to accept her as she is. She has friends and a real life in this quirky, hot city. Then Isabel meets Dominic, whose deep soul and strong character draw her to him. Her growing love gives her the courage to confront the demon, insisting the curse be broken. But the demon’s price for freedom is much, much higher than she could possibly give.

Q&A!

Where did you get the idea for Breathe For Me?

Rhonda: This actually started in its original form as a Persephones/Hades modernization. Then a bunch of those sold all at once…and I had to rework it to something else or else risk getting rejections because of the similarity. Lol. That said, I love the way it evolved and am so glad I took the leap to change it.

Breathe for Me deals with demons and curses. What other supernatural creatures do you like and which ones do you think you’d like to write about in future books?

Rhonda: I love the paranormal stuff. Always wanted to write a gargoyle story, actually…I should try my hand at one someday. Something about those creatures in particular always stick with me.

Craziest thing you’ve had to Google for a work in progress?

Rhonda: “How far out do you have to dump a body in Lake Erie to have it stay there and not float back to the shore?” Yeah, I might be flagged on some FBI lists for that one. haha

Which character was your favorite to write?

Rhonda: Honestly? Sitri. He was a real challenge for me. Creepy and obsessive, and yet…there’s a vulnerability in him that drew me to him and stuck in my head. He’s messed up. But he’s a product of how he was raised, his lifestyle, his demonic power. He loves my heroine in his own way, but his love is flawed and controlling, not healthy and freeing and supportive. I like how complicated Sitri is.

Biggest writing quirk?

Rhonda: Oh man. Uhhhhhh this is a hard question, lol. I’m quirky in general. I can’t write out of order, and I can’t write without a plot outlined. I freeze up. Other than that, I can’t think of anything weird?

What are three must-have items when you sit down to write?

Rhonda: Some form of caffeine (usually soda, but sometimes tea), my laptop and some kind of sweet treat (chocolate works fabulously).

What book are you currently reading?
 
Rhonda: I just bought This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers, and I’m so, sooooo excited to read it. I love everything she writes. :D

Purchase BREATHE FOR ME here: 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Kobo | iBooks 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rhonda Helms started writing several years ago. She has a Master's degree in English and a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing. She also edits for Carina Press (an imprint of Harlequin Publishing) and freelance edits.

When she isn't writing, she likes to do amateur photography, dig her toes into the sand, read for hours at a time, and eat scads of cheese. WAY too much cheese.

Rhonda lives in Northeast Ohio with her family.

Website | Twitter | Facebook 

***GIVEAWAY***

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Happy Reading!

[Release Day Book Blitz!] Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas!

So guys. Guess what releases today? That's right! Dangerous Boys! I freaking love this book and I'm so glad and lucky that I get to help promote this book! I wrote a review for this book that you can read here. If you've somehow missed the teaser post that I posted last week and the ranting I did for it on twitter, as well as some of the teaser photos, here's the synopsis and cover of the fabulously twisted DANGEROUS BOYS.

Three teens venture into the abandoned lake house one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense?

Or murder?

Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces…

Get It Here!

Amazon | iBooks | UK Amazon | Book Depository

Early Praise

"Dangerous Boys is a taut, compelling thriller balanced on the razor's edge of suspense. I could not put it down, and could not stop grinning wickedly as I raced through the pages." -- Leah Raeder, USA Today bestselling author of Unteachable

"Abigail Hass is a master at her craft! This is a special book and a special author. This is the kind of storytelling and writing that stick with you no matter how much time passes." -- The Book Geek Blog

"As with Dangerous Girls, the closing left me with a huge, admittedly rather twisted smile on my face. I don't know how Haas manages to turn me into such a gleefully evil creature." -- Dahlia Adler, blogger.

"Dangerous Boys was an intense, psychological read which was full of suspense and drama,...Abigail Haas has a way of writing books which reel you in and keep you there, hooked and addicted until the very last page." -- Goodreads.com

Here's another teaser picture with an excerpt from the book:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abigail Haas has written two adult novels and four young adult contemporary novels under the name Abby McDonald. Dangerous Girls is her first young adult thriller. She grew up in Sussex, England, and studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics at Oxford University. She lives in Los Angeles.

Website / Twitter / Facebook

I hope you guys pick this one up to read! It's seriously twisted and I still need to read the other one, DANGEROUS GIRLS. I've heard nothing but great things about it. Seriously guys, check this one out.

Happy Reading!