MORTAL INSTRUMENTS FANS!!!!!

Hey there all you Mortal Instruments fans....this new blog I follow has an awesome contest!!! Check it out and tell them I referred you!!!!! 

 

http://www.readingteen.net/

Good luck!!!!

Beautiful Darkness!!!!!!!

Yes I have another contest to blog about, but this one is incredibly AWESOME!!!! I normally don't rate the books I read. As a matter of fact, I never do. However last year I (through one of the amazing authors of this book) came across a copy of Beautiful Creatures. I have told everyone and still do that it was the BEST book I read all of last year! Now a fellow blogger has had the wonderful opportunity to give away an ARC of the sequel! Check out this wonderful blog and enter the contest!

http://www.readingteen.net/2010/06/giveaway.html

GOOD LUCK!

Another Great Contest!

Tera Lynn Childs has a great contest on her blog that you should check out! She is the author of the YA titles "Oh My Gods" and "Goddess Boot Camp" and the newly released title "Forgive My Fins"! Good Luck!!!!

Here is the link to the contest:

http://teralynnchilds.blogspot.com/2010/06/contests-around-continent.htm

Another Great Giveaway!!

Hello there!! Michelle Zink author of Prophecy of the Sisters and the upcoming Guardian of the Gate is running an amazing contest!! Here is the link and good luck!

http://michellezinkbooks.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/ipod-super-swag/

Clockwork Angel Contest!!!

Check out this great new contest for Clockwork Angel! The first in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices Trilogy!

http://litbites.blogspot.com/2010/06/clockwork-angel-by-cassandra-clare.html

"Eyes Peer From the Undergrowth..."

 Open the book, walk through the page, and never look back....that is how I felt when beginning this book. Mr. Gaiman has exquisitely taken us on a journey to safely pass through a fairytale. Mr. Vess (illustrator) has manifested this world for us to journey through as the pages flip past us. Before we know it, we are safely home...or safely making a home....or safely resting.....

I love this book....Fairy tales sparked my love for literature when I was very young. Left with the tattered page books that were hand-me-downs from my older siblings, my imagination was the only thing to take me on my travels. In the finely crafted picture book by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Charles Vess the "fairy tale world" is brought to life and made for us to enjoy as never before. For young and old alike this title is perfect for storytimes for groups of children or for a cozy storytime between parent and child. I recommend this title to book lovers everywhere.

Chemistry.....love....and darkness.....

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

With a title like Jekel Loves Hyde, how could I resist. In knowing the classic by Robert Louis Stevenson, what could possibly happen to give us a modern day YA title??? Well...Beth Fantaskey has made a quirky little concoction of her own in this title!

Tristan Hyde = Foreigner with a "darkside"

Jill Jekel = Good girl suffering a great family tragedy

The story takes place at Jill's father's funeral. He was murdered viciously and 

Jill is left with so many questions. At the very beginning of the story in steps Tristan Hyde with his dark brooding nature and tender comforting arms. Is there a connection other than the coincidence of their names, that Jill and Tristan share? That is definitely for the reader to find out. 

I  can say that I was on my seat from beginning to end. I was wrapped in the darkness of what Jill and Tristan were encountering and yet was savoring the twist that the characters took. This author doesn't just have great character development but she turns them inside and creates a new character within the same character! I have recommended this title to so many people already and hope to definitely see more from this exquisitely talented author!

AWESOME CONTEST!!!!!!!

Hi everyone! It's been a while but I have a contest to let you in on. I have included a link to mystical lit lounge's website! Check it out and enter! 

http://mysticallitlounge.com/2010/06/our-very-first-giveaway-hush-hush-style/

Also check out the podcast on itunes...just search "mystical lit lounge" and listen!

Can a thief really be a hero?

The Thief and the Beanstalk by P.W. Catanese

Does this title have a familiar ring to it? From the first page I knew I was hooked. Mr. Catanese takes us back to the old familiar tale of Jack and his magic beanstalk.
Our story starts out with a new face, Nick, who much like Jack was a very poor individual not knowing where his next meal was coming from. Nick who was orphaned due to a plague that took his parents, is wandering the land just trying to survive. As we start the story we also see a band of thieves wandering the countryside in search of wealth and glory. All of our characters know a tale of a man named Jack who lives off far "North and West" of here. This man Jack is very wealthy in a white fortress that is impenetrable. His wealth is "said" to have come from a magical place that he went to after planting magic beans and growing a magical beanstalk.
We find in the band of thieves a most gruesome character named Finch. Finch on the exterior is a handsome man who maybe doesn't look like he belongs with these ruffians. However when Nick encounters Finch in the middle of an abandoned farm, one look into the terrifying look of his eyes and Nick knew that the exterior man did not match the monster within.
Finch has plan to find this "Jack fellow" and steal all his riches. They find Jack's pearly white fortress and only Nick can get in by climbing the vines that are crawling up the fortress walls.
After some hearty meals and a change of clothing, Nick is ready.
He climbs into Jack's fortress and finds a curious room. A room filled with paintings that are almost telling us a story....a story of a young boy in a magical world...filled with giants, and hens that lay golden eggs.....
and as he is looking...Nick is caught! by none other than Jack himself! Jack a now old man has some heavy burdens he has been carrying around for years....was Jack the hero of his story? Did he kill the giant? Find out for yourself! Jack gives Nick some beans (much like the ones Jack was given in trade for his cow) and see what happens when Nick climbs the beanstalk this time....will Nick make it back to our world??????

This enchanting story should be shared with many! I absolutely loved reading it and revisiting not only an old friend but my childhood as well...I recommend this one to readers of all ages....
Enjoy!