The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms #2) by Cinda Williams Chima

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH

Source: For Review

Edition: ARC

Pages: 586

Rating:

You can't always run from danger... Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean danger isn’t far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery—but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen. The Exiled Queen is an epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.

After reading The Demon King, which is the first book in this amazing series, I jumped right into The Exiled Queen because I was so excited to read more. I thought the first book was amazing but let me tell you, the second book is far better. To be honest, I didn't expect much from the series but little did I know that it is probably one of the best book series I've read. The action is non stop and the world of the Seven Realms is enthralling! I loved reading every single page of this book and it continued to surprise me until the very end. There's just the right amount of comedy, suspense, romance, ect. in the novel.

As for the characters, I once again enjoyed the different perspectives of the story. Han still remains one of my favorite characters as does Micah. I always like the antagonists in novels because I find them more interesting and they add spice to the story! Princess Raisa surprised me quite a lot and I definitely enjoyed the romantic development between her and several characters. She also grew as a character and I liked how she was more herself in this novel than in the first one.

There's honestly nothing bad I could write about this book or the series! I thought that the story became bigger and better, very unique and captivating. I love the size of the books because there's no possible way that a series this amazing could be told in less than 500 pages! I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the next book, which I believe is entitled The Gray Wolf Throne, and I certainly recommend this series to everybody.

Laura Wiess Signing + Giveaway

Yay! Another giveaway! I went to my local Barnes and Noble during the week and saw a sign that Laura Wiess was going to be signing and almost had a heart attack. No one ever signs around my area that I'm interested in. I liked Such a Pretty Girl and am very excited to read Ordinary Beauty and I love the cover. I made sure that I took advantage of this opportunity and got an extra copy for one of you!

Since I used my own money to purchase the book, I would like to ask you to show your appreciation by following BAM Book Reviews! I won't limit the contest to just my followers, but if you follow our blog you'll get an extra entry for the giveaway! =)

Click here to enter! Giveaway deadline: 7/9

Laura Wiess and I! She was so sweet!

What you'll get if you win:

Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess *SIGNED*

Ordinary Beauty Magnet

MTV mini-notebook!

*SIGNED*

Ordinary Beauty:

How can you make someone love you when they won’t?

And what if that person happens to be your mother?

Sayre Bellavia grew up knowing she was a mistake: unplanned and unwanted. At five months shy of eighteen, she’s become an expert in loneliness, heartache, and neglect. Her whole life she’s been cursed, used, and left behind. Swallowed a thousand tears and ignored a thousand deliberate cruelties. Sayre’s stuck by her mother through hell, tried to help her, be near her, be important to her even as her mother slipped away into a violent haze of addiction, destroying the only chance Sayre ever had for a real family.

Now her mother is lying in a hospital bed, near death, ravaged by her own destructive behavior. And as Sayre fights her way to her mother’s bedside, she is terrified but determined to get the answer to a question no one should ever have to ask: Did my mother ever really love me? And what will Sayre do if the answer is yes?

This book sounds AMAZING and I bet it's just that. Good luck to all that enter! =)

**ALSO**

The winner of the Over the Moon giveaway was Amanda from That Teen Can Blog! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II

Caught this video over at Katie's Book Blog!

Briana: Oh man =( This is so sad! I literally cried while watching this. I can't believe Harry Potter is almost over. I grew up with this and took it for granted. Now the final movie is coming out and I'll never wait in line at midnight to see a Harry Potter movie, ever again. This is such an epic trailer. I'm definitely going to re-read the book and I'm sure I'll cry just as much as the first time I read it.

The Quest for Merlin's Map (The Jumper Chronicles #1) by W/C. Peever

Publisher: Savant Books and Publications LLC

Source: Publicist

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 296

Rating:

Charlie is an awkward twelve-year old living a normal life till he is abducted and thrust into a world of ever-looming danger, a world of Magic, of Angry Gods, and Creatures that are should only exist inside of fairytales.

Charlie and his three friends must unravel the mysteries of their new found abilities, save the father Charlie has never known, and uncover a secret that will change their lives forever.

When I got a request to review this book, I was uncertain about whether or not it would be something I would enjoy. Whenever I get a request, the first thing I look at it is the cover to see if it attracts me. I know that's not the way I should judge a book by first impression, but that's just how I've always been! With that said, I'm not attracted to the cover. It's a nice cover, but it just doesn't look like my type of book, at first glance. However, The Quest for Merlin's Map, pleasantly surprised me with it's lovely characters and intriguing plot.

During the first 100 pages, the story was moving pretty slow for me (but that might've just been because I was in a reading rut!) Once I got past that point, I became attached to the characters and was finding myself getting nervous for them during their adventures.

Now, some of the reasons why I didn't give The Quest for Merlin's Map 5 butterflies instead of 4: I found the story to be pretty predictable at times. While I was reading I would take a guess of what would happen next, and half the time my guess was correct. I personally just like a bit more of an unpredictable plot. Also, I did find quite a lot of similarities between the characters of The Quest for Merlin's Map and Harry Potter. The characters go to school in a castle very similar to Hogwarts, the three main characters are two boys and a girl, the headmaster is very old and wise, etc. I don't read a whole lot of MG, so maybe these similarities are common among quite a few MG? I'm not sure.

Overall, I did enjoy the story and would recommend it to anyone that likes Harry Potter and/or Percy Jackson. I'm looking forward to the next installment in The Jumper Chronicles.

Over the Moon Giveaway

Hey everyone! So I got this book quite a while ago for review and it just wasn't for me. The idea of this book is so intriguing but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. However, that doesn't mean one of you won't like it! I would really appreciate whoever entering the contest be a follower of BAM Book Reviews, since I will be spending my own money on shipping costs, but I won't limit the contest to just the followers.

When seventeen-year-old Tiana moves to Hurricane, Utah, her comfortable world is turned upside down as she traverses the rough waters of adjusting to a small town and new school. Her father insists they were supposed to move here for some unknown, important purpose, and the voice in her head tells her not to argue. After resigning herself to being a miserable outcast, Tiana finds that she is not only accepted by most of the students at her new high school but is also the recipient of unwelcome attention from the opposite sex.

But then she meets the mysterious Andrew Martin and is soon Over the Moon crazy about him. Andrew seems to be the perfect boyfriend: protective, tender, good with her parents, and a fabulous kisser. But he also has a few unusual qualities: an intuitiveness that borders on mind reading, a touch that seems to heal, and almost superhuman strength. Tiana marvels at his talents but doesn't seriously consider the implications until she can no longer ignore the clues: Andrew does not belong on Earth. When Andrew admits his true identity, Tiana enters a world previously unknown to her and is plunged into mortal danger as it is Andrew's sworn duty to combat evil, extraterrestrial villains who wish to invade Earth and enslave mankind. Join Diane Daniels for a romantic adventure in Over the Moon, which will take you to a world where the impossible comes to life.

If you're interested in entering the contest, click here. The contest will end Saturday, June 25th at 11:59 PM.

BEA/IMM Vlog

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

PART ONE:

PART TWO:

Breaking Dawn Part 1 Trailer

Briana: So. Frickin. Impressed. Everything about this teaser trailer made me squeal and jump and smile, etc. I think I almost died when Edward broke the bed. I didn't expect them to show that, at all! So excited to see the feathers ;) OH and the baby bump scare in the end?! AWESOME. This movie will be epic. I know that not everyone loved the book, but I think everyone will enjoy the movie. The only negative about this trailer? Edward's hair in the wedding.

Arielle: I completely agree with Briana! I am so impressed with this trailer. I almost didn't expect it to be that good. I haven't really been keeping up with any BD info since I am not a huge Twihard, but once I saw this I immediately got excited for November. I am thinking this movie with be MUCH better than the past three.. which is so exciting! I believe that even non-Twilight fans would find this trailer intriguing!

Marisa: I also definitely agree with Briana and Arielle :) I've been waiting for this trailer for quite awhile now and I'm definitely satisfied with it! I totally thought that they wouldn't show anything of the wedding or the baby because those are really important parts of the book but I'm so glad they did! It looks super awesome and will probably be the best movie yet :) I'm excited! Oh and I agree with what Briana said about Edward breaking the bed, really unexpected and awesome :)

My First BEA Experience (Part 1)

As some of you may know, I attended the infamous Book Expo America! Yes this post is a little late, but I couldn't find my camera cord and well, you know... there has to be pictures in this post. So I borrowed a camera cord and am so ready to show you guys the amazing-ness of BEA, or at least what I was able to capture through a lens. I'll try my best to go in depth enough but not too much so it's ridiculously long!

Day One (Sunday): I arrived in NY around 4:00, as far as I remember. Lexie and Jen (read below for info on bloggers) picked me up at Port Authority and took me to the hotel so I could drop off my bags. After we dropped off my bags, we went back to Port Authority to grab some grub and then back to the hotel! That night, my roomies Jen, Lexie, Taschima and I compared our schedules for BEA. It was a pretty relaxing night and was good to rest before the madness about to come our way.

Day Two (Monday): I am not a morning person, but I have to say I didn't mind getting up early on Monday since we were going to have an exciting, yet another relaxing day. We went to the Javits Center and then headed to the... HARRY POTTER EXHIBIT! Not as exciting as Harry Potter World (FL), I know. But don't get me wrong, there aren't any complaints here! If you guys are in NYC, definitely spend the $25 (?) and visit the exhibit! Anyway, my roomies and I met up with Emily, Nikki and Danielle!

After the HPE, we went to get pizza in a church. Yep, you read right. We had pizza in a church, specifically John's Pizza (Danielle's recommendation.) Before Teen Author Carnival, we headed to The Strand bookstore. This was my first downfall of NYC. I purchased 14 books at The Strand. Now that was fun carrying around NYC; can you say blisters? Teen Author Carnival was a really fun experience and SO many people were there! I kind of wish we wore badges like we did at BEA so we would know who everyone is! =P

At one point after TAC, we met up with Amelia and Tegan! Sadly, Amelia didn't come to Dave and Busters with us for dinner, but dang that food was GOOD. Is there any way to request to bring a Dave and Busters to my town? Later that night we came back to the hotel and just hung out for a while and compared schedules once again.

I'm waiting for Jen to post her part 2 so I can look at that to make sure I don't miss any events that went down since I was with her pretty much 24/7. Is that cheating?

Bloggers:

Lexie is from Poisoned Rationality.

Jen is from Reading with Tequila.

Taschima from Bloody Bookaholic.

Emily from Red House Books.

Danielle from Frenzy of Noise.

Nikki from Wicked Awesome Books.

Tegan from Poisoned Rationality.

Amelia from Imagination in Focus.

Non-bloggers (AMAZING people):

Taschima's mom Suzan!

Taschima's friend Chaz!

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Published: May 2011

Source: Barnes and Noble

Edition: Hardcover

Pages: 416

Rating:

Since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move - four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, Mclean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, Mclean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself - whoever that is. Perhaps her neighbor Dave, an academic superstar trying to be just a regular guy, can help her find out. (Barnes and Noble)

Sarah Dessen has hit another one out of the park. I fell in love with this book immediately. Dessen’s books have always captivated me from the beginning, and this one was no exception. Mclean, a senior in high school, has been living with her dad ever since her parent’s scandalous divorce. Her father is a restaurant consultant that jumps from job to job meaning they move constantly. Mclean has moved four different times in two years. Every time she moves, she creates a different persona – Liz, Beth, Lizbet, etc; she enjoys deciding who she will be instead of what people think she should be. Except when they move to Lakeview, Mclean decides to stay Mclean. She doesn’t completely understand why at first, but throughout the book she begins to realize she enjoys being Mclean much more than her previous personas she thought she liked.

The story is like any other from Dessen: charming, funny, witty, touching, and thoughtful. Unlike other Dessen books though, this one focuses more on the family aspect instead of completely focusing on the life of the main character and a certain boy. The story feels real based on the related circumstances. Everyone, at least once in their life, tries to find themselves, and in What Happened to Goodbye, this is exactly what Mclean is trying to do. She needs to decide who she really wants to be and if she will finally let people get close enough to have lasting relationships with them.

However, this book is not without a good-looking, charming guy. Dave, Mclean’s neighbor, is the extremely smart, cute, and all around great guy that Mclean is afraid of. She doesn’t know if she is ready to get close to anyone since her and her father may relocate at any point. But as the story unfolds and some things turn sour, she finds herself relying on Dave and needing him more than she expected.

What Happened to Goodbye does not disappoint for us hardcore Dessen followers. It will have you laughing, thinking, and maybe even tearing up a little bit. I recommend it to any new and old Dessen readers.