Monday 31 December 2012

December Wrap Up


Challenges:
Outdo Yourself Challenge:
1. Rock Hard
2. Beano Annual 2012
3. Beano Anual 2013
Total: 52 / 50

A-Z Title Challenge:
Total: 21 / 26

Millionaire Challenge:
48. Rock Hard 327 pages - 16.12
49. Beano Annual 2012 need to count - 25.12
50. Beano Annual 2013 need to count - 25.12
51. Indomitable 50 pages - 25.12 
52. Believe Like a Child 426 pages - 26.12
Total: ????

Shelf Stacking:
eBooks bought/freebies: 

For Review:

Gifts:
Kindle Fire HD

Sunday 30 December 2012

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged (35)

Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is a weekly event hosted by Talk Supe where you can share the books you have bought, borrowed or bagged (won) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews and on going events. 
(P.S. click the image to go to its Goodreads page)
Bagged (Christmas Presents):
Beano Annual 2013
As tradition from my Dad, they're not as good as I remember or as funny :c
Beano Annual 2013
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion and World War Z by Max Brooks
Also from my Dad! Such a sucker for zombies :3
Warm BodiesWorld War Z
The Walking Dead tshirt(s)
The first is mine, and the second is my boyfriends (who's name is Daryl by the way) also from my Dad!
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone & Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I actually got each of these twice due to delivery messing up, all from my Mum.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)

Bagged (For review):
Indomitable by J. Meyers

Yippee!
Indomitable (an Intangible novella)
Showtime by Chloe Kayne
I've heard mixed things but I'll keep my thoughts neutral
Showtime (Marvelle Circus, #1)

Bagged (Freebies):
Angel Evolution and The Moon Dwellers by David Estes

I saw an event about these being offered for free for a short period, picked them up of course.
Angel Evolution (The Evolution Trilogy, #1)The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers, #1)
This week on Northern Plunder:
In Other News:
I hope you all had a good Christmas! I always start feeling super organised around this time of the year, keeping my eyes peeled for a new layout for the new year but haven't found anything yet...

Saturday 29 December 2012

Review: Indomitable


Indomitable (an Intangible novella)Indomitable by J. Meyers
Published: December 22nd 2012
Series: Intangible #0.75
Page Count: 50
Synopsis: Perhaps the most dangerous person to gain unimaginable power is the one who feels oppressed.
And full of wrath. For very good reason.
Review: So when I got the opportunity to request this novella for review from J. Meyers I simply couldn't resist and jumped at the chance. Boy I'm super glad I did too. This novella accompanies her book Intangible which is the first in the series, which I enjoyed to pieces and my favourite character was Jonas. This story of course follows Jonas before our first meeting with him in Intangible as well as enlightening us on his life on the night he became a vampire, the death he had to deal with and what it was like becoming a vampire and visiting The Realm for the first time. It was all pretty wonderful and honetly I just want more chapters/stories from Jonas' point of view 'cause he's so completely bad ass and still retains some form of humanity too! Fifty pages wasn't enough to quench my thirst so I'm just going to sit and wait somewhat patiently for the sequel of Intangible ;) Thanks again Jen!
4 / 5 stars
Amazon: UK | US
J. Meyers: Website | Twitter | GR |  Facebook

Friday 28 December 2012

Review: Believe Like a Child

Believe Like a Child
Believe Like a Child by Paige Dearth

Published: June 22nd 2011
Publisher: Createpace
Page Count: 426
Synopsis: Alessa is just seven years old when her uncle rapes her for the first time. As the years pass, his sexual appetite becomes more voracious and his perversion more twisted, until the abuse has become almost a daily ritual, with the unspoken involvement of the girl's mother.
At the age of sixteen, after the death of her only friend, Alessa finds herself at the mercy of her real-life monster, with no relief in sight. She flees her home to escape this hell, only to find herself descending into a more dangerous one. Alone and helpless in the streets of North Philadelphia, she encounters more human predators who want to take over her life and devour her. About to hit rock bottom, Alessa manages to break away from her new tormentors and finds refuge in a shelter for homeless and abused women.
Wherever she goes, however, trouble keeps seeking her out, until she meets three people who change the course of her life forever. Though Alessa's bittersweet journey is perpetually fraught with challenges, she does, nevertheless, manage to find fleeting moments of joy along the way. But as she begins to settle down, a ghost from the past comes to haunt her again, threatening to destroy the very foundation of her small world and plunging her back into an abyss of despair, until she makes her final bid for escape.
Review: I honestly do not think I've felt such a range of emotions throughout a book before, it has left me somewhat speechless  As I was finishing up reading it I burst into tears, not just because what had happened on the page in front of me but because I'd held back such strong emotions throughout the every page, it certainly becomes a weight and really touches your heart. Sounds silly I know. This story follows Alessa throughout her roller coaster of a life - and by this I don't mean its thrilling and exciting, I mean it has plenty of ups and downs - a few of my friends asked myself how I could possibly sit, read, by choice, and enjoy a book where rape and abuse happens for what feels like 80% of the book and I felt a little lost and first because it does seem an absurbed thing to do when I choose to read to relax and as first I did struggle getting through pages of the book but soon I found the more I read, the harder the book was to put down, whilst what I was reading was far from pleasant it was interesting, interesting to see how Alessa not only handled herself and the situations she was faced with time and time again, but to see how as a person she grew, bloomed if you will, into this amazing woman. Not only that, we can't simply sit back and pretend things like this don't happen, because they do and you'd have thought by now the world would have changed but its probably something that's never going to happen, no matter how hard we all wish. Anyway back to Alessa and her story, like I said it really is a tragedy, but on her journey she gains a new family and gets to live and cherish a life that we all take for granted. It is an amazing book. I'm not even going to delve into the ending which led me tears, that is something you're going to have to read about for yourself. But just remember no matter how insignificant you feel, if you will it enough you can change your life and the lives of those around you and make a difference in this world. I really really recommend this book and that's why I'm giving it a 4.5 star rating, I can't quiet commit to the full 5 but wow, it's just amazing.

4.5 / 5 stars
Amazon: UK | US
Paige Dearth: Website | Twitter | GR |  Facebook

Thursday 27 December 2012

Bout of Books Read-a-thon 6.0 Goals

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon
It's almost Bout of Books time! This will be my third time taking part in this read-a-thon, 4.0 was spectacular for me, 5.0 not so much. But as this one is in the New Year and I want to make a good dent in my to read pile I expect to do better.

What is Bout of Books?
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 6.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books 6.0 team


I know that I will be back at college by the time the read-a-thon starts so to make a goal of reading a book a day may be unreachable but I think by the end of the week as long as I've finished 7 books I'll be happy, this means including finishing off books that I'm already part way through at the start of the read-a-thon as well as books read from start to finish during this time. I hope that I wont leave a book unfinished too which'll help keep things tidy. Outside of reading I'd like to visit a minimum of 10 blogs a day, take part in at least one of the twitter chats and visit every single blog on the wrap up posts like I did during 4.0 - it took well over a week to fit everyone in and no doubt there will be even more members taking part this time but I'd still like to do it again!

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Wishlist Wednesday (29)


Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Pen to Paper where we can share books that are on our wishlist.


Hanging by a ThreadHanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield is another book that caught my attention due because of its wonderful cover, just so happens the synopsis sounds wonderful too!

GRSummer is the best part of the year in Winston, California, and the Fourth of July is the highlight of the season. But the perfect town Clare remembers has changed, and everyone is praying that this summer will be different from the last two—that this year's Fourth of July festival won't see one of their own vanish without a trace, leaving no leads and no suspects. The media are in a frenzy predicting a third disappearance, but the town depends on tourist dollars, so the residents of Winston are trying desperately to pretend nothing's wrong.


And they're not the only ones hiding something.
Clare, a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people's pasts when she touches their clothes. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year's Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.
In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Merry Christmas!


Just a quick post to wish you all a Merry Christmas and to say that I hope each and every single one of you has a wonderful Christmas that you deserve! Have a great time, read lots of books and try not to get too drunk.

Monday 24 December 2012

Indie-Fever Reading Challenge 2013


Debdatta of b00kr3vi3ws is hosting Indie-Fever Reading Challenge 2013 with the aim to get us to read and review more indie books. 

During this year I have noticed that I've been a lot more open to reading book by indie authors, I think one of the main things that has helped me to keep going back to new authors and feeling good with  this choice is due to the fact those who I've read this year have been super pleasant talking to me! I would like to venture out a little more into the indie world and no doubt it'll help with my other challenges too, for this challenge I'm going to enter aim for the Lover Level where I am to read and review between 9 and 16 indie books throughout the year.

Want to sign up and know more? Click here.

Indie-Fever Reading Challenge Progress:

1. The Unwords by Unauthor [review]
2. Snow White Blood Red by Cameron Jace [review]
4. Beauty Never Dies by Cameron Jace [review]
5. Ladle Rat Rotten Hut by Cameron Jace [review]
6. Mary Mary Quite Contrary by Cameron Jace [review]
7. Blood Apples by Cameron Jace [review]
8. Once Beauty Twice Beast by Cameron Jace [review]
9. Moon and Madly by Cameron Jace [review]
10. Princess by Courtney Cole [review]
11. Word and Breath by Susannah Noel [review]
12. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire [review]
13. Dahlia by Christina Channelle [review]
14. Fallen Tears by Christina Channelle [review]
15. Demon Possession by Kiersten Fay
16. Imaginable by J. Meyers [review]
17. Rowan by Christina Channelle [review]
18. A Unique Rabbit by Red Tash [review]
19. Before the Moon Rises by Catherine Bybee*
20. By Blood by Tracy E Banghart review]
21. Dealing With It by Christina Channelle
22. Catalyst by Jennifer Snyder [review]
23. Gargoyle Addiction by Livia Olteano [review]
31. Anywhere by J Meyers [review]
32. Moon Child by Tracy E Banghart [review]
33. No One's Angel by Kelly Walker [review]
34. My Ex From Hell by Tellulah Darling [review]
35. Burn Out by Ruthie Knight [review]
36. Reap by Christina Channelle [review]
Total: 36 / 16

*Please note: I'm unsure whether to count this book because she has been published before but this particular book was self-published so?

Sunday 23 December 2012

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged (34)


Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is a weekly event hosted by Talk Supe where you can share the books you have bought, borrowed or bagged (won) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews and on going events. 
(P.S. click the image to go to its Goodreads page)
Bagged (Amazon freebies):
Fox's Bride by A.E. Marling

I had this on my wishlist after entering a Goodreads giveaway, and the author messaged me letting me know that it was currently free on Amazon so I grabbed it whilst I could. 

Fox's Bride
This week on Northern Plunder:
In Other News:
I also made sure not to buy anything else knowing that Christmas will be here shortly! I can't wait, I know for sure that I've got the first two Harry Potter books and I've asked for two zombie books too.  I also got two new storage places in my room and one is completely full with my to read books, I'll get some photographs after Christmas so that my new books will be included too. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Friday 21 December 2012

Dystopia Reading Challenge 2013

Ula from Blog of Erised is hosting the Dystopia Reading Challenge 2012 which I intend to take part in. 
I am entering at Level 1: Recruit where I aim to read between 1 and 6 dystopian books, the reason I selected this is due to the fact I aim to cut down on buying books and I'm not 100% sure I own more than 6 as it is. If I'm lucky I may end up in Level 2, but I doubt it.
For more information and sign up click here.

Rules 
- The challenge will run from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Each month will have its own link form so you will be able to share your book reviews. You do not have to review the books you read to participate, but only those who read/reviewed at least one dystopian book will be able to participate in the giveaway (you can track your reading without the reviews with Goodreads, Shelfari etc.).
Books that count in this challenge must include any form of post-apocalyptic theme (book sites like Goodreads are good sources of genre information). The books must be full-length. 
- All formats allowed
Rereads allowed
It does not matter whether it's a series or a stand-alone book.

Dystopia Read Challenge Progress:
1. Extras by Scott Westerfeld [review]
2. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion [review]
3. Word and Breath by Susannah Noel [review]
4. Boarded Windows by Isaac Marion
5. Word War Z by Max Brooks
Total: 5 / 6

Thursday 20 December 2012

Women Author Challenge 2013


Valentina of Peakabook is hosting The Women Challenge for 2013 with the aim to get us to read more books by females. 

I, myself, already read a fair amount of books by female authors this year but decided that I'd like to take part my goal is Level 2: Girls Power where I aim to read between 6 - 10 books by female authors. I also want to make it a goal of mine to make sure that at least half of these books that I read are from female authors who's work I haven't read before.
 

Want to sign up and know more? Click here.

Women Challenge Progress:

1. Pandora Hearts Volume 2 by Jun Mochizuki
2. The Archived (Sneak Peak) by Victoria Schwab [review]
3. Word and Breath by Susannah Noel [review]
4. Princess by Courtney Cole [review]
5. Geek Girl by Holly Smale [review]
6. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire [review]
7. Dahlia by Christina Channelle [review]
8. Fallen Tears by Christina Channelle [review]
9. Hot Ticket by Olivia Cunning
10. Demon Possession by Kiersten Fay
11. Imaginable by J. Meyers [review]
12. Rowan by Christina Channelle [review]
13. A Unique Rabbit by Red Tash [review]
14. Pandora Hearts Volume 3 by Jun Mochizuki
15. Pandora Hearts Volume 4 by Jun Mochizuki
16. The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood [review]
17. Before the Moon Rises by Catherine Bybee [review]
18. Marked by P.C. Cast
19. Death Dealer by Ashley Robertson [review]
20. Endure by Laura Diamond [review]
21. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
22. By Blood by Tracy E Banghart [review]
23. Dealing With It by Christina Channelle
24. Catalyst by Jennifer Snyder [review]
25. Gargoyle Addiction by Livia Olteano [review]
28. Wicked Beat by Olivia Cunning
31. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
32. Anywhere by J Meyers [review]
33. Moon Child by Tracy E Banghart [review]
34. No One's Angel by Kelly Walker [review]
35. My Ex From Hell by Tellulah Darling [review]
36. Burn Out by Ruthie Knight [review]
37. Being Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram [review]
38. Kissing Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram
39. Reap by Christina Channelle [review]
40. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
41. More Than Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram [review]
42. Print & Pattern by Bowie Styles
43. Let It Snow by Red Tash, Jessica McHugh and others
44. Pandora Hearts Volume 5 by jun Mochizuki
Total: 44 / 10

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Wishlist Wednesday (28)


Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Pen to Paper where we can share books that are on our wishlist.

The Peculiars
Honestly The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry caught my eye due to its breathtaking cover, give me please!
GR: This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance. On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.

Monday 17 December 2012

Review: End of Faith


End of Faith: A Novel (Children of Grace Series, #1)End of Faith by Rena Willemin
Published: August 15th 2012
Page Count: 336
Synopsis: Ninety-five percent of the world’s population perishes in the worst pandemic since the Black Plague and Valentina’s about to find out that surviving means enduring the wrath of a prophet determined to see her dead.
At the onset of the pandemic, Valentina deals with an absent husband, a self-absorbed mother, and grief over another miscarriage. As the death toll rises, the plague claims the lives of everyone she loves. Alongside a coalition of survivors, she fights for diminishing resources and navigates a society where uterus renting is a guaranteed meal ticket. When she rescues a pregnant woman from an attacker, she unknowingly helps the woman escape from her husband, a prophet who has amassed a legion of followers.
With a price on her head, Valentina’s on the run and grappling with feelings of guilt, isolation, and hopelessness. She’s just about given up all faith in humanity until she happens upon a girl left alone to fend for herself. The girl fulfills Valentina’s yearning to be a mother and she vows to protect her. Before she can live up to that promise, she comes face to face with the prophet who gives her a choice: carry his child, or die.
Review: I was given this book in return for an honest review, and boy am I glad I didn't turn it down, and I almost did seeing as though my to-read pile has been getting a little out of hand lately. When I first started this book I didn't get attached to it straight away and that was because from first glances you've got a Prophet and a Rich Girl who are the voices behind the chapters, honestly I'm not too found of religious-ness in books because they often come in two forms - very bad or overly religious or even a combination of both - and I just kind of don't really get either (oh and this is totally the bad kind, think brainwashing young girls ready for breeding programmes) and then of course the Rich Girl, who I feel I should apologise too as I automatically assumed she was your usual rich snob who you can't relate too, but it turns out she's so very far from that and isn't actually all too rich, in fact all the preconceived facts I had about her perfectly describe her mother, and Val herself is headstrong (for the most part) and your ideal pal for wanting to survive the end of the world with. Kind of. I say kind of because well the whole point of this book is the fact she gets mixed up with the wrong kind of things, first of all she helps the pregnant lady mentioned in the synopsis which ends up getting her only friends dead, herself stabbed and homeless and in a bit of a pickle. Luckily there was this really lovely guy - Wayne - who she met earlier on in the book so she stumbles across his house eventually which y'know could be a good thing but after four years of most of the world being dead he does end up only wanting one thing and she has to move on, it was a shame really cause he was pretty in the know with this new world they're living in. But Val doesn't give up, nope she keeps trekking on, surviving and living! Whilst surviving on her own for what seems like an impossible amount of time she seeks refuge in one of many abandoned houses and whilst here a young girl and she takes it upon herself to look after and escape the confines of the prophets rule from here on forth I found it to be a really difficult book to put down as I just had to know how they were going to survive together and escape the never-relenting trackers, of course things don't go as smoothly as planned but I don't want to give much else away but we do get to have more of an insight into the life surrounding the prophet and how bad and low he is willing to stoop to get his own way. Overall I enjoyed the story and it left me wanting to know what life would bring for Val later on, oh and my favourite character was actually Wayne because to me his was important as he was kind of the marker to illustrate just how much time had passed, how much humanity had dissolved and much people were willing to give up on and trade for to have a life similar to the past. I would definitely recommend it and I have high hopes for the sequel.
Goodreads
Amazon: UK | US
Rena Willemin: GR | Website | Twitter | Facebook

Sunday 16 December 2012

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged (33)

Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is a weekly event hosted by Talk Supe where you can share the books you have bought, borrowed or bagged (won) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews and on going events. 
(P.S. click the image to go to its Goodreads page)

Bagged (Amazon freebies):
A Job From Hell by Jayde Scott, Stained by Ella James, Ethereal by Addison Moore, Darkhouse by Karina Halle and Glimpse by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

I decided to stop up on some more amazon freebies to fill up my new kindle a little more, not that I needed any though. I wonder if I can go the whole of next year without getting any new books and just read through what I already have? Hah. Who am I kidding!

A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends, #1)Stained (Stained, #1)Ethereal (Celestra, #1)
Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror, #1)Glimpse (Zellie Wells, #1)

Bagged (Christmas Presents):
Doctor Who: The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole, Doctor Who: Only Human by Gareth Roberts and The Unwords by Unauthor.
Doctor Who: The Monsters InsideDoctor Who: Only Human
The Unwords

In Other News:
I've finally finished college for the year, mostly, I have to pop in on Wednesday for thirty minutes to show them the work I've done so I've been working my socks off this weekend to make sure I have everything up to date. Also this weekend I watched Expendables 2, Brave and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey so I haven't really left much time to my read-a-thon but I've squeezed in my books when able.

Magnificently Magic Read-A-Thon Day 4


Day 4. Yay. Okay wow, how have I been so busy lately? I don't know but I have. The Hobbit was amazing guys and I've done so much college work today I'm basically caught up. Shame it can't  be said about the read-a-thon though, this has been a bad attempt on my behalf. I'll try and finish Rock Hard today and start and finish The Unwords with it being a small poetry book. 
Progress:
Day 1:

Believe Like a Child
Pages Read: 56
Rock Hard
Percent Read: 23%
Day 2:
Believe Like a Child
Pages Read: 74
Day 3:
Rock Hard
Percent Read: 11%
Day 4:
Rock Hard - Finished
Percent Read: 46%

Overall Total: 129 pages & 90%

Mini Challenge:
I couldn't really attempt this very well considering we don't have any Christmas decorations in my house,  well we do just they're all in the loft and I doubt they'll be down any time soon - with me not being young any more there isn't much of an emphasis on Christmas in my household so we'll probably have a tiny light up tree and that's it. Also sorry the picture is blurry, it started to collapse!

Saturday 15 December 2012

Magnificently Magic Read-A-Thon Day 3


Hello Day 3. I must apologise because I wont be able to make the twitter chat tonight as I'll be just finishing watching The Hobbit around that time... I might catch the end of the chat, hopefully. I'll be sure to let you know how amazing the movie is if I do turn up. I guess I didn't do much better yesterday, you can blame watching The Expendables 2 on that, it was distracting and completely awesome.
Progress:
Day 1:

Believe Like a Child
Pages Read: 56
Rock Hard
Percent Read: 23
Day 2:
Believe Like a Child
Pages Read: 74
Overall Total: 56 pages & 23%

Mini Challenge:

For this challenge we had to fill in the blanks of the quotes with the words provided, I haven't read this book nor did I bother to look up the quote and just too a gamble with the words until they made sense c: good luck all.
Quote 1)
"Once upon a time, an Angel and a Devil fell in love. It did not end well."

Quote 2)
“She had been innocent once, a little girl playing with feathers on the floor of a devil's lair."

Quote 3)
"…When I saw her smile I wondered what it would be like to make her smile...I thought it would be like the discovery of smiling.”