Cover Wars [9]

This week I'm going to do a quick Cover Wars - the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike

* I have yet to read these...are they any good?

Here are the US covers for Wings and Spells

vs the UK covers...

And I want to know what Enchantments looks like!!

Personally, I like the UK ones better - they seem cuter and the US ones seem kind of bland :)

Have a good rest of the week

My LAST OLYMPIAN anniversary giveaway!

Zac & Corbin couldn't be here today, so I got another piece of eye candy to announce my next giveaway! Well, actually, I agreed to stop following him if he's announce my giveaway...so without further adoo, here is:


That's right! In just a few weeks it will be May 4, the 1-year anniversary of The Last Olympian's release. To celebrate (and it indeed is worth celebrating - long live the PJ series!) I'm going to be giving away one copy from The Book Depository--and you know what that means: INTERNATIONAL!

this one really is the best in the series!

• Oh, and if I hit 215 followers by May 3, I'll give away 2 copies - two is better than one, right?!

Real quick, here's the fine print:

1. You must be a follower to enter - and I do check. Please, please be sure you click the "Follow" button on the right-hand side. :)

2. You need to fill out my little form in order for the entry to count.

3. If you are a blogger and you win, please post a review of this book once you're finished reading. Yes, the series is hugely popular, but it's always good to spread the word!

This contest will run through May 3, at 11:59 PM (central time).

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

My Almost-200 Giveaway!

Hello, everybody! It's time for another contest!

My buddy Zac was so kind to reschedule his waxing so he could announce my next contest! And look, he brought Corbin along, too!

2 winners will have a chance to win...

• My slightly used UK edition of Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher!
• My slightly used UK edition of Sapphique, the sequel to Incarceron - For US/Canada folks, this won't be out in the US until December '10!

My sweet little grandparents have agreed to ship these for me, so I'm sorry but THIS CONTEST is for US & Canada only (my other contest will be int'l!)

Okay, here are some things to know:

1. You must be a follower - and I do check :) Just click on the "Follow" button which is on the right-hand side

2. When you fill out the form, there is a question that asks if you are entering to win Incarceron or Sapphique or both. So really, you're entering 2 contests: there will be a winner from the Incarceron/Both category, and there will be a winner from the Sapphique/Both category.

3. Remember, these are UK covers, so they look like THIS:

4. I always love comments (they're like fudge brownies to me) but in this case, they won't count as an entry.

5. If you are a blogger and you win, please agree to read & review these titles (ESPECIALLY SAPPHIQUE) so we can spread the word on these exciting books!

THIS CONTEST will run through May 2, 2010 at 11:00 PM (Central Time)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

My second contest will be up TOMORROW - so check back for that, too!

review - THE HOLLOW KINGDOM

The Hollow Kingdom - Clare Dunkle
Genre: YA Fantasy
# of pages: 240 (pb)
Publisher: Henry Holt, Macmillan
Age-Level Suggestion: 13&up

In nineteenth-century England, a powerful sorcerer and King of the Goblins chooses Kate, the elder of two orphan girls recently arrived at their ancestral home, Hallow Hill, to be his bride and queen.

I just read this book again last night, and I have to say, I love it *MORE* than the first time!! The Hollow Kingdom is absolutely one of my all-time favorite books!! WAY TO GO, CLARE DUNKLE!!!! Thanks for writing such an amazing story :)

Original Review: Wow! I started this at 7 at night and finished at 2something in the morning! It was that engrossing! The fact that Clare Dunkle's writing was praised by Lloyd Alexander (one of my favorite authors of all time) really impressed me, and I see why. Though published within the last 5 years, she writes with a lyrical narrative not seen among today's more "urban fantasy/modern" authors. I can't really describe it, but it sounded reminiscent of Alexander's own work: simple yet elegant. And I have to say, I was and still am almost entirely in love with the story! Although the story's order of events were...unconventional (certainly like nothing I've ever read before) I was not bothered or uneasy in the least. If you've read the story, you may know what I mean: there are some things in fantasy stories that you just don't expect to happen, and when they do, it's very surprising, to say the least! And in fact, the sometimes shocking plotline is what I remember most about this story - the things you'd never expect to happen actually do - and from those shocking twists and turns comes an amazing, beautiful story that will stay with you forever. At least, this story will definitely stay with me forever.

This is a simple enough love story, and I found myself found it a little similar to the Phantom of the Opera scenario...but it is still different... It doesn't take an English professor to crack the major themes and the overall message of the story. Typical YA: sometimes those "messages" tend to be a little "after-school-special" for my taste, but still... great story, very well-developed characters, and an extremely talented

author.

PS... he's totally not described this way, but I couldn't help but picture the Goblin King as the one played by David Bowie in Labyrinth! I *LOVE* Labyrinth and you all need to watch this movie after you read the book!

book blogger hop!

This Friday, I think I'll head on over to the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books!

I've seen this a lot and just had to join in!

The Hop is a weekly event where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read. It's a great way to network with other bloggers and make new friends!

So hop on over to Crazy for Books and sign up today! It's FUN!

I'm Back!

Hey buddies, I’m back! This week has been crazy, but it’s nearly over!
I do have some quick announcements:

First of all:
THANK YOU for all your sweet comments! Comments literally made my day – I love them like Skittles

Second of all:
I want to apologize in advance for the lack of reading and reviewing. It’s been 2 weeks without fun-reading, and that may extend into the next 2 weeks… BUUUT I will still be posting reviews, mainly of books I read before I started blogging.

And last:
Stay tuned, because I’m about to start 2 - not 1, but 2(two) – new contests! We all love contest! More info this weekend!

Hope all of you (grownups) had a good Tax Day! I’ve been daydreaming all day of how I’m going to spend my $2 refund :S


Have a great rest of the week!

taking a short break...

It's getting down to the wire for a lot of us school folks! Those papers that have been only occasionally worked on are now sneering, "You'd better finish me or else!"

If my research papers had voices, they'd most definitely sound like Lord Voldemort...or Gollum...

So for the next week, I'm going to attempt to get my stuff together but unfortunately that means taking a wee little break from blogging. I may be able to comment, but I won't be making any new posts. This will also be Week #2 of no-fun-reading :(

Hopefully I'll be back in a week. Until then, I'll miss all of you! It's always a great part of my day to "hang out" with all of you awesome blog buddies :)

See you next week!