Update from Briana!

Hello my lovely readers/fellow bloggers! I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting anything lately, not ONE review since I left for school. It's been unbelievably busy and I rarely find the chance to get on Blogger. I have been reading though. So far I've read Frankenstein, Dracula, Paradise Lost, parts of The Holy Bible, and Heart of Darkness. As of right now I'm in the process of reading The Medic by Leo Litwak (History course), I am Legend by Richard Matheson (Monster Literature), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (to review for the upcoming movie!), and Mockingjay. Yes, Mockingjay. I STILL haven't read it. I'm so disapointed. But I did get people on my floor to start reading The Hunger Games! :) Oh, and I also got people to start reading Salvaged by Stefne Miller! I love recommending books to friends lol!

Anyway, that's about it for me. I will definitely be reading during the holidays and posting as many review as possible!

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

Hey guys!

It's GIVEAWAY time :)

I received two copies of Pluto's Ghost by Sheree Fitch in the mail, one for review and one for a giveaway! The contest ends November 20th and I'll notify the winner by email. The book is an ARC edition and you get a maximum of 5 entries. Open to residents of the US and Canada!

ENTER HERE!

Pluto's Ghost isn't a very well known book but it does sound excellent! Here's the synopsis of the book and the cover:

"Murderer. It's one kick in the belly of a word isn't it? Has a taste, too. It tastes like barbed wire and has wild hyena eyes. Murderer. Murder-her. Did he? Did I? That's when I remember what I want to forget."

Jake Upshore has loved Skye Derucci since before he can remember. Volatile, complex and frustrated (he's got a label disorder from all the labels he's been given) at the best of times, Jake's on a desperate quest to find Skye before she aborts the baby he believes is his. As he hurtles headlong toward certain tragedy, Jake relives the fatal choices he's made and the powerful forces that have led him to this to end. A gripping thriller and a heart-wrenching love story, Pluto's Ghost is a raw and powerful novel about anger, escape, and redemptive love.


Good luck to you all :)

CSN Bedspread Review

It's been way too long since I've been on here! Sorry about that :( School is kicking my butt and I haven't been able to get ANY reading done. I've been reading books for school, but that's it. I haven't even gotten to read MOCKINGJAY yet!!! Anyways, a few weeks ago I got asked to review something from CSN stores. If you guys don't remember or don't know, I reviewed an amazing bookshelf for my dorm room which you can read here.


I chose to improve my dorm room once again, so I decided to get a new bedspread! I was supposed to have a roommate but since she didn't come back to school this semester, I have a room all to myself with two twin beds. I decided to push my two beds together and make one huge king size bed!


So... here's the before picture.







& here's the after!

Let me just say that I am much more than pleased with this bedspread. It's absolutely gorgeous and makes my room feel so much more homey. My room doesn't even feel like a dorm room anymore! The shipping was pretty fast, about 3-4 days, and it's just as pretty in real life as it was online. Thank you CSN for this amazing opportunity!

PS... If anyone has sent me a book for review and I haven't gotten the chance to review it yet, I apologize! I plan on getting to it as soon as possible!

Another Amazing CSN Opportunity!

Hello my lovely readers! I'm oh so excited because I got asked to review a product from CSN, or give away a gift card. Since I'm giving away a gift card already, I figured I'd review something! I'm pretty sure that I want a new comforter for my dorm, so I think I'll go with that. I was supposed to have a roommate this year, but it turns out she transferred, so now I have two twin beds which equals a king size! I'm going to push the two of them together and have one amazing big bed! Nice right? Anyway, when I was looking at comforters I also came across platform beds. These beds are so awesome!

Aren't they awesome?! I especially love the bed with the drawers. I have so many clothes and that would definitely come in handy! Anyways, I'm very much looking forward to reviewing a product and I'll be picking out a winner for the gift card tonight! Good luck! :)

Queen in Exile by Donna Hatch

Queen in Exile by Donna Hatch

Publisher: Walnut Springs Press, March 23rd 2010

Pages: 373

Edition: Paperback

Genre: Young Adult

Rating: A

Summary:

Rumors of war hang over Princess Jeniah's peaceful country of Arden, a land that shuns both magic and warfare. Following a lifelong dream, Jeniah forms a telpathic bond with a revered creature called a chayim, who is prophesied to save her kingdom. But when a Darborian knight comes upon Jeniah with her chayim, he sees only a vicious monster about to devour a maiden, and he slays the beast.

Devastated by the loss of her chayim, and fearing that her own magic is evil, Jeniah doubts her destiny. When an enemy invades Arden City, they slaughter the people, storm the castle, and execute the entire royal family except the princess. Rescued by the knight who slew her chayim, Jeniah is now heir to the throne of Arden and the only hope for freeing her people from tyranny.

On the run and hunted by enemy soldiers, Jeniah must place her life and the fate of her kingdom in the hands of this trained killer. Torn between embracing her destiny as queen of Arden, and her love for a mere knight, she must ultimately rely on her magic to save herself and her people from death and tyranny.

Review:

The summary for this book made it sound like an action/adventure/romance/paranormal novel. And that's exactly what it was! I loved every single moment of this book :)

To start, Jeniah is princess of Arden but she certainly doesn't act like any ordinary princess! She's brave, adventurous, different and has special magical abilities. I'll just say that I loved reading the book from her perspective BUT you also get to read it from Kai's perspective, which made it all the more interesting. The book started off very strong, with a captivating beginning. You are immediately introduced to both main characters and you feel as if you've known them forever. Kai is probably one of my favorite male characters that I've read about. He's obviously handsome and is dangerously skilled in combat, which makes him the perfect bodyguard for Jeniah. They embark on an amazing journey together and you get to see their relationship develop throughout that adventure.

As the novel progresses, it just gets better and better! There's a ton of action and suspense moments in the book and a few twists too! I loved the new mythical creatures introduced in the novel such as chayims, wrywolves and duocorns. Well wrywolves are just another type of werewolf species but still, I liked how Donna included some differences between the two. For me, the end of the book was spectacular. It was amazing! I finished this book in three days because it was so gripping. I'm really hoping for a sequel.

I recommend this book to everybody! Do yourself a favor and go pick it up RIGHT NOW.

CSN Giveaway!

Hello lovelies! So sorry I haven't been posting ... well... at ALL! But I do have a nice treat for you today. CSN contacted me and asked me to either review or host a giveaway and since I reviewed something last time, I'll give something away to one of you this time! Click HERE to enter the contest and good luck to all of you! :)

The contest ends September 28th!

CSN Preview

Hello lovelies! CSN offered to let me host a giveaway on their behalf for a $60 gift card for any of their stores, and they have A LOT!

As a college student, I really try to make my dorm feel like home and with a modern chair the room really has a cool feeling to it. I'd love to get this chair even though it doesn't match anything in my room!








Anyways, check out all they have to offer at http://www.csn.com/ and I'm sure there's at least 20 things you'll have your eye on by the time you're done looking.

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Publisher: Hyperion, May 2008

# of pages: 400

Source: Library

Edition: Hardcover

Genre: Young Adult

Rating: C+

Summary:

Phoebe is just your typical goth girl with a crush. He’s strong and silent…and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is happening. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same—they stutter, and their reactions to everything are slower. Termed "living impaired" or "differently biotic," they are doing their best to fit into a society that doesn’t want them.

Fitting in is hard enough when you don’t have the look or attitude, but when almost everyone else is alive and you’re not, it’s close to impossible. The kids at Oakvale High don’t want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn’t breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the differently biotic from the people who want them to disappear—for good.

With her pale skin and Goth wardrobe, Phoebe has never run with the popular crowd. But no one can believe it when she falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids. Not her best friend, Margi, whose fear of the differently biotic is deeply rooted in guilt over the past. And especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has just realized his feelings for Phoebe run much deeper than just friendship. He would do anything for her, but what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

Review:

I really wish I liked this book more than I did! It took me forever to read, a week and a half I believe... which is usually kind of long for me.

The concept was really interesting and I was so excited to read it, but the plot just didn't do it for me. Nothing really caught my interest enough to make me keep reading, I basically just kept reading because I have to review Passing Strange, which is the 3rd book in the series and I'd really like to be updated on the first two books.

The characters were fun and lovable, but I didn't have that connection that I wish to have with every character I read about. Phoebe was strong and I liked that, but her personality was just as boring as the color of all of her clothes, black.

I know this is a short review and I'm sorry for that, but I honestly have nothing else to say about this book. I hope I like the second one better!

Arson by Estevan Vega

Arson by Estevan Vega

Published: May 4th 2010 by Tate Publishing

Pages: 318 pages

Rating: B-

Summary:

ARSON GABLE FEELS LIKE A FREAK. HE CAN CREATE FIRE. HE NEVER ASKED FOR IT. HE NEVER WANTED IT. BUT HE CAN'T SHUT IT OFF.

Before now, three things were true: he both loved and despised his grandmother; his life was going nowhere; and he was alone. But when a strange girl-who feels more normal behind a mask than inside her own skin-moves in next door, Arson hopes to find something he's never had: purpose. Using what he fears the most about himself, Arson must face his consuming past and confront the nightmare that is present as he walks the fine line between boy and monster. Dark, moody, and breathtakingly relevant, Arson, the chilling chronicle of an isolated boy with unimaginable ability, is sure to ignite the hearts and minds of a new generation.

Review:

I have very mixed thoughts about Arson. I'm still not quite sure if I enjoyed the novel or if it just fell flat for me.

To start, this is the first novel by Vega that I've read so I wasn't too sure about his style of writing or if I would like the book. The summary did intrigue me though, so I gave the book a shot. Arson started off strong and I was eager to read on. The main character, Arson, was troubled and had secrets that I yearned to know more about. I thought he was kind and had a strong heart especially with the guilt he deals with throughout the book. His ability to create fire also adds more spark (no pun intended ;D ) to his personality.

As you read further into the book, things get a little bit odd, for example the way his grandmother acts around him. She is definitely not loving or sane in my opinion but the reasoning behind that does gets explained. I also thought that although Arson started off well, the development and plot of the book were very poor. The middle section of the book really had no point to it except maybe to emphasize the feelings Emery and Arson were developing for each other but that dragged on a bit too long for my taste. As for the conclusion of the book, it was excellent. There was excitement and twists in the plot that I totally didn't see coming and Vega ended the book with an awesome cliffhanger!

To finish, I wouldn't say that Arson was great but it was a good book. It's worth it to read it when you have the time.

CSN Spine Bookcase Review

Hello my loves! I was lucky enough to get a bookcase from CSN to review! As some of you may know, I'm in college and I just moved into my dorm yesterday, and dorms are NOT big at all. It's a challenge to find room for everything you brought and the book shelves they have to not fit my requirments :P

Here's a picture of the room itself (my side) so you can see how small it is.






And here's a picture of my lovely bookcase.








And here's a picture of how well the bookcase fits in with my other furniture.






The bookcase is incredible, it was actually fun to put together (not hard at all), and the shipping was amazing. It took 2 days for the bookcase to get to my house and did I mention FREE shipping? Pretty awesome.

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In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren. Click here to learn more about it.

Overall!

For Review:

The Jumbee by Pamela Keyes

The Jumper Chronicles by W.C. Peever

Bought:

Kiss of Life (Generation Dead #2) by Daniel Waters

So what did you guys get in your mailboxes? Let me know in a comment so I can come see your post! :)

Book Blogger Hop (4)

Hey hoppers! Welcome to our blog! :) I hope you enjoy although we haven't really had the time to post much this week.... and I'm STILL reading Generation Dead. It's taking me long enough huh?


Question: How many blogs do you follow?


Answer: Oh wow... I think around 200 or so. There are so many awesome blogs out there, I just can't help it! How about you guys? Let me know through the comments or leave a link to your blog!

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In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren. Click here to learn more about it.

Overall!

Good Reads Swap:

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Barnes and Noble:

World War Z by Max Brooks (for school)

2010-2011 Planner! (for school... I love planners! I probably would fail out of school without one! :P)

Ebay:

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter (I have the 2nd and 3rd book, but still don't have the 1st!)

Review:

Over the Moon by Diane Daniels

**That's it for books this week!! What did you guys get?

Book Blogger Hop (3)

Hey there hoppers!! :) Welcome to BAM Book Reviews! Just to let ya'll know, I'll be reviewing an awesome spine bookcase from CSN this week! I'm so excited to put it together and see how it works with my books (including textbooks) yuck. I'll be bringing it to my dorm at school where it's very, very tight.

Question: How many books do you have on your TBR shelf?

Answer: This is embarrasing... over 60...

How about you guys? Leave me a link to your blog so I can check it out! :)

Wishlist Wednesday (27)

Hello everyone! :) I haven't done a Wishlist Wednesday in forever and I thought I'd change it up a bit. Usually I just pick random books that I've had my eye on. From now on, I'll actually be picking books from my Barnes and Noble wish list. I'm going to start from the bottom of the list, which are books I picked out as early as 2008.

To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker

Once caught, it’s harder still to let a pirate go
When Annalisa Townsend’s ship is set upon by pirates in search of her father’s treasure, one of the crew, James Sterling, discovers her in the hold. When he moves to take her necklace, she begs him not to, as it is all she has left of her mother. He accepts a kiss in exchange for the necklace. “A fair trade, m’lady,” he tells her afterward, before disappearing.
A year later, with a forged letter of marque, Annalisa is intent on hunting down the wretched James Sterling and reclaiming her father’s treasure from him. But now she’s in danger of him stealing something far more vulnerable this time: her heart.

PS: Let me know what you thought of this book if you've read it! I'd love to know!

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

# of pages: 352

Source: Gift

Edition: ARC

Genre: Adult Fiction

Rating: C-

Summary:

Can we save ourselves, or do we rely on others to do it? Is what we believe always the truth?

One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a miracle to happen.

For Shay Bourne, life holds no more surprises. The world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. In a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. Now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with June's eleven-year-old daughter, Claire. But between Shay and Claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child.

Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish?

Review:

I think I'm done with Adult Fiction for quite a while. I gave it a shot mostly because I was embarrased to still be reading YA. I'm 19 now and I thought it was time for me to at least try to read something that's meant for my age group. I don't care anymore though. I love YA and I won't let something as little as age keep me from it.

I liked Change of Heart at first... it was pretty good and very interesting. The book had alternating points of view from four different characters, which was the biggest thrill of all, unfortunately.

I've been reading this book for about 2 weeks and I've only gotten to page 158. I can't possibly read any more of this book right now. Maybe I'll return to it someday, but as of right now, it's absolutely tedious.

The plot won't move so that means the pages won't either... because I keep falling asleep when I try to read it... Come on Jodi Picoult: I loved your book Perfect Match! It was one of my first reviews (I bet that's easy to tell... not my best writing.) hehe. I have two other books by her that I haven't read yet: The Pact and My Sister's Keeper. I've heard wonderful things about both and hopefully I will like them a lot more than Change of Heart!

Book Blogger Hop (2) & Winner of Salvaged by Stefne Miller

First of all, the winner of Salvaged by Stefne Miller was kjovus! I sent them an email and if they don't get back to me within 48 hours, I'll choose another winner!

Happy belated Friday everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, I spent most of mine watching Gossip Girl :P Season 3 was pretty amazing and heartbreaking. The end was just wow and I can't wait until Season 4.

For all of the hoppers, welcome! I hope you enjoy my blog and make sure to leave a comment so I can come visit yours!

Question: Do you listen to music when you read? If so, what are your favorite reading tunes?

Answer: Not really. Sometimes I'll have the TV on pretty low but I find music to be distracting for some reason.

CSN Review Teaser!

Hello my lovely readers! :) So as some of you may know, I went on a cruise this summer to the bahamas and a few other places. The only thing that really bugged me is when I picked up my luggage right after leaving the ship, it was so hard to find! All of the luggage looked the same and I wish I had a different pattern or color to make it stand out. Well, I couldn't find any cute luggage in the department stores I went to... but CSN has tons of different kinds of luggage that I wish I knew about.

They have AMAZINGLY cute luggage that I want to get my hands on! Like this adorable pink one...

Or this fierce giraffe print one!

So go ahead and take a peak at what CSN has to offer! They have over 200 stores to choose from also!

Me? I'll be reviewing a bookcase since I have no more room left for my precious books :(

Infinity (Chronicles of Nick, #1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon

Published May 2010

448 pages

Rating: B-/B

Synopsis

At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity. Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead. But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu. As if starting high school isn't hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

My review

I'm going to divide this review into two paragraphs. One paragraph will be the negative aspects of this book and the other paragraph will be the positive things. We'll start with the negative.

First of all, I didn't really fully understand what the plot of the book was. I think that Sherrilyn wrote another series about Dark-Hunters so maybe I should have read that series before reading this book. There were too many characters to follow and too many different types of supernatural creatures in this novel for my taste. I didn't know who or what half the characters were and some of them just completely disappeared for the rest of the book! I felt like there were so many loose ends in the book and the character development was poor so I couldn't really connect with any of them. I was also confused about which storyline to focus on and there were too many different things going on in the book.

Now for the positive :) I like Nick as the main character. He's funny, polite, brave, charming and an all around likable character. I thought that the plot, though at times confusing, had a lot of potential and the action in the book was great. I really enjoyed the ending of the book, I love big explosive endings and Infinity finished with a bang. The book also had a hint of humor and romance included, which is always good.

To finish, I thought Infinity was a good book but it wasn't amazing. Read it when you have time
but I wouldn't put it at the top of the to-read pile.

The Girl Made of Cool by Alan Fox

The Girl Made of Cool by Alan Fox

Publisher: StoryFocus Communications

# of pages: 240

Source: Author

Genre: Adult Fiction

Rating: D

Summary:

Here, Fox tells the story of a young man and woman who are falling in love with each other, but the young woman doesn't know it. She believes that she's falling in love with the man's far more handsome, more perfect friend. ... As the story unfolds and deepens, we see how these two highly talented young men must suffer, struggle, and wage battle to woo this young woman. This, as all the while, she grows into an ever greater beauty, a more charismatic personality, and an all-the-more alluring woman. ... This, as all the while, this young lady grows to become an elegant woman made of shining love and elusive cool. -- Also featured here in this collection, you will find: The Novel "HELL HAS BLUE SKIES" -- A love story about intense relationships in an office, whose unusual line of business is to train people to become 'world-class experts.' And the short story "THE LOVELY LADY AT THE LOVE MUSEUM" -- A colorful tale of romance and high-level maneuvering in the big city.

Review:

Okay... So I've never written a review where I've given the book a rating under a C-. A first time for everything right? I started this book with an open mind and couldn't even finish it. I was bored and put the book down plenty of times making excuses like "have to clean my room" or "I'm hungry" or... you name it.

The characters were hard to relate to and I never really made that connection with any of them. I really wanted to try and finish the book, but my motivation was completely shot during the process of reading it.

Hopefully someone else will enjoy this book more than I did, so look out for a giveaway.

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Overall!

For Review:

The Girl Made of Cool by Alan Fox

Passing Strange (Generation Dead Serires #3) by Daniel Waters

Bought (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/):

Dracula by Bram Stoker (School)

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls Series #2)

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Bought (Walmart):

Under the Dome by Stephen King

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Trilogy Series #1)

Library:

Generation Dead (Generation Dead Series #1) by Daniel Waters

Good Reads Swap:

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Book I'm Currently Reading...

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

What a long IMM post right?! I took that picture on the 4th of July ;) Pretty cool huh? Anyways, leave your link below so I can check out your IMM post too! :)