Happy New Year Giveaway Hop

Thanks so much to Babs Book Bistro and the amazing Kathy at I am a Reader Not a Writer, for hosting another amazing giveaway hop!

This year has been amazing- I got the chance to meet so many amazing bloggers, publishers and authors. I've read so many epic debuts- a lot of which came from self-published authors. 2012 was a great and important year for the Publishing Industry, we saw the emergence of the "New Adult" genre and so many amazing Indie Publishers such as Spencer Hill Press and Entangled Publishing, flourish- I can actually buy an Entangled Publishing book from work now- that's amazing!

I'm so grateful to be a part of this amazing community and can't wait to see where 2013 will take the Industry!

I do have some blogging resolutions though:

1) More reviews! I have a notebook filled with reviews that I have yet to type out and I would love to post at least two reviews each week (I have to keep it realistic :))

2) Not making promises I can't keep - I will no longer post upcoming events unless I know for an absolute fact that they are a sure thing!

3) Need to get my partner in crime online - I have a reviewer for Middle Grade titles and I must get on her to start sending me reviews!

4) Keep blogging fun - I love blogging, but if I haven't posted in a couple days I feel guilty and there's no reason for this because blogging shouldn't be a chore, it's an outlet to share our passion for books and the Industry. So I plan to keep the fun in blogging (I'll have to make sure I keep up my giveaways, right haha)

5) Keep up on my TBR pile - I'm awful for starting a book and than putting it aside to start a new book and so and so forth, it's a terrible habit but I just can't help myself!

6) Bringing Pick of the Month feature back! I love this feature and will have a post on the last day of every month.

7) Fresh Face! I've been wanting to redesign the blog for a while now and I think 2013 will be the year!

That's all for me! What resolutions do you have?

Answer and enter the rafflecopter below to win your choice of a 2013 release! Open Internationally! Good luck to you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

ETA: Thanks so much to all you Team Warner and Team Adam fans! I personally can't pick which team I'm on, and congrats to the winner! Please email me (see review policy page) with your mailing information, if I do not hear from the winner within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Check out the other awesome blogs in this hop!

What's the Story McCoy? The one with the epic Boxing Week Steals!!!!

Hello Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Holidays, can you believe it's almost 2013? I can't wait! I'm sorry I've been lacking in the posts department this month, but wow what a month it has been, I'm very much looking forward to January! Luckily I got some amazing steals this week at work...

All the books below were either $4.99 or $5.99 and I got my employee discount on top of that, so I scored pretty well! I have a lot of these titles in ARC form but I really wanted Finished Copies, and they're Hardcover! Double Score! :)

From the top left down,

Timeless by Alexandra Monir (Delcorte Press)

Eve by Anna Carey (HarperTeen)

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey (Harcourt)

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier (Henry Holt)

The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten (HarperTeen)

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison (HarperTeen)

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott (Simon Pulse)

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington (Source Books Fire)

Balthazar by Claudia Gray (HarperTeen)

Tempest by Julie Cross (St. Martin's Griffin)

The Secret Circle The Divide by L.J. Smith (HarperTeen)

Hereafter by Tara Hudson (HarperTeen)

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (HarperTeen)

Two Truths and A Lie by Sara Shepard (HarperTeen)

And I got some awesome Teen and Middle Grade titles for review!

ARCs

The Phenomenals by F.E. Higgins (Harper Collins Canada) Jan'13

Prodigal by Rektok Ross (IC13 Books) Jan. 31st/13.

Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum (HarperTeen) Jan. '13

Lawless by Jeffrey Salane (Scholastic Canada) Apr'13

Finished Copy

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I haven't had as much time to read this month as I would have liked, but I have a ton of new Kindle Crack reads to review in January- I've definitely been on a New Adult bender lately haha!

That's my story for this week, thanks so much to Harper Collins Canada, Scholastic Canada, Ic13 Books and Chapters, for making it so epic!

What's your story?

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!!!

Regular posting will resume starting December 28th!!!

Until then, HAPPY READING!!!

ARC Review & Giveaway: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Unravel Me
By: Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: February 5th/13!!!
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pre-order Here or here
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

My Thoughts:

Wow, I thought Shatter Me was epic, Unravel Me blew it out of the water!

Juliette continues to be one of my favourite YA heroines and she faces a whole new set of struggles in Unravel Me, with her powers and the men in her life.

Unravel Me, basically picks up where Shatter Me left off, Juliette and Adam have joined the rebel resistance and our currently staying at the Omega Point Headquarters, where they attempt to master their skills "powers". Although I felt that this plot point resembled the X-men Academy, Mafi does a great job of putting her own unique spin on the mutant "Super Power" theme. Of course her ability to write amazing metaphors three dimensional characters, doesn't hurt either. We're introduced to a whole new batch of rebels and it was nice to see Juliette make some actual friends!

My heart broke for Adam and Juliette in this instalment. Adam has been keeping a VERY important secret from Juliette, that has some serious consequences their relationship. But not to fear, Juliette always has Warner waiting on the sidelines. Yes, that's right, Warner is back, and he plays a very important role in Unravel Me, we actually get to see a whole different side to him that may have some Adam fans switching sides haha. I do have one complaint about the men in this instalment and that's that I wish Adam was written in more. We were given so many great Juliette/Adam scenes in Shatter Me, and don't get me wrong, there's quite a few good ones in Unravel Me, I guess I just can never get enough Adam haha. 

There's also a MAJOR plot twist regarding Adam and Warner, I won't say what but it's a good one!

Along with a great cast of characters, Mafi also does a great job of blending suspenseful action into Unravel Me- they are preparing for a war after all. 

And that ending! Why Mafi, why? I need book #3 yesterday!!!

If you loved Shatter Me you're guaranteed to love Unravel Me!

Happy Reading!!!

ETA: If you follow me on twitter you know that this post was suppose to go up on Thursday. Unfortunately I scheduled it for the 27th instead of the 20th (my mistake!!!). So here it is now, and I apologize to anyone who came looking for it and got confused.

GIVEAWAY TIME!!! That's right, I'm giving away my precious ARC of Unravel Me to one lucky winner! PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FORM ON THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BEFORE ENTERING!!!

Good luck to all and Happy Holidays!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday: Our Song by Jordanna Frailberg

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine!

I LOVE the synopsis for this week's pick! It sounds like such a romantic book!

Our Song

by Jordanna Fraiberg

Release Date: May 2nd/13 (So far away!)

Publisher: Razorbill

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:

Olive Bell has spent her entire life in the beautiful suburb of Vista Valley, with a picture-perfect home, a loving family, and a seemingly perfect boyfriend. But after a near-fatal car accident, she’s haunted by a broken heart and a melody that she cannot place. Then Olive meets Nick. He’s dark, handsome, mysterious . . . and Olive feels connected to him in a way she can’t explain. Is there such a thing as fate? The two embark on a whirlwind romance—until Nick makes a troubling confession. Heartbroken, Olive pieces together what really happened the night of her accident and arrives at a startling revelation. Only by facing the truth can she uncover the mystery behind the song and the power of what it means to love someone.

What titles are you waiting on this week?

Happy Reading!!!

Teaser Tuesday: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading

This week's teaser comes from Jessica Brody's upcoming March release, Unremembered!

Enjoy!

"Who are  you?" I demand.

I watch the smile vanish from his face. Replaced by a dismal frown. His thick brown eyebrows knit together, forming a deep crease in his forehead. "It's true then, isn't it?"

Unremembered, p. 51

Happy Reading!!!

I have one request

I had planned to do an ARC giveaway of Unravel Me today, but after the horrific events of late last week, I wanted to take the time to send my condolences to all those who have been affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

As I write this post I realize that there really are no words for what happened, it was horrific, senseless and my heart goes out to all those innocent souls who's lives ended much before their time.

I have one request for all those who read this post, and that is, to not be afraid to ask for help if you need it. There is never any shame in seeking out help, never.

My prayers, and my family's prayers are with all of you.