Sunday 31 October 2010

In My Mailbox 20

It was quite funny this week, I was feeling really proud of myself because I gave away a lot of books on bookmooch so had cleared some space on my shelves. Then what did I do to congratulate myself? Bought more books of course!


From BookMooch.com:

Bought:

Well that's what I got, what did you get this week?

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Saturday 30 October 2010

Book Lovers' Greetings Card Exchange

A while ago I mentioned that I was thinking up a secret project, well this is it! It's kind of like a secret santa thing, but instead of sending gifts you send a nice card to celebrate the holiday season. Sign ups are open to anyone who is willing to send out at least one card (you can send up to 10). The plan is that everyone who signs up will receive as many cards as they send out, so basically the more you send, the more you receive!

There are a few rules/guidelines:
  • You must be prepared to cover the postage costs of sending out your cards (you have the option whether or not to send internationally).
  • You do not have to be a book blogger to participate.
  • Please do not send cards that others may find offensive (ie. anything with nudity or obscenities)
  • You can send store-bought cards or you can send homemade ones.
  • You can include a small gift if you want (e.g. bookmarks and postcards).
  • You are also allowed to include a business card for your blog if you have one.
  • You can include a letter if you want to.
  • Open to everyone, regardless of where you live.
You can sign up anytime before Nov 30th when I will send you a list of where to send your cards.

Please let your friends and followers know about this as the more people who sign up the more fun it will be!

Sign up by filling out the form below:
 

Entangled by Cat Clarke

EntangledThe same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

A story of dark secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction.
 
My thoughts: I could not put this book down! The book is told as the journal of Grace, the main character. She self-harms and is suicidal. At the start of the book Grace thinks she's been kidnapped and is being held prisoner. To make sense of the situation she starts writing down everything that she remembers. This includes her relationship with boyfriend Nat and her best friend Sal. Some of the 'twists' in the story were a bit obvious and it made me feel like when you watch a horror movie and you know that something bad is going to happen, but you have to watch anyway.

At first I found it hard to like Grace, but as the story progressed and I learned more about her I really started to feel sorry for her and I just wanted to give her a big hug!

This was a really great book and I recommend it to everyone! But I do warn you it is a bit sad in places.

I received an ARC copy of this book on tour from UK Book Tours.

Sunday 17 October 2010

In My Mailbox 19

I received two books for review this week. I'm really looking forward to both of these.


Alpha by Rachel Vincent - Everything is about to change for werecat Faythe when her father is ousted from the council that controls their secret world. And a shocking tragedy jeopardises her future as Alpha of the pride.
Now a rebel on the run, Faythe's biggest fight lies ahead. Old allies from the supernatural world are ready to stand by her side. And weretoms Marc and Jace would give their very souls in the duel for Faythe's heart...
Yet as their enemies draw near Faythe knows that she - and she alone - can lead the pride into what may be their final battle.

The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton - A rural idyll: that's what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the CĂ©vennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you're no longer here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbours, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that's before the arrival of Catherine's sister, Bryony...

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for previous books in the series.
Spy Glass (Glass, #3) An undercover mission leads to danger, adventure and an impossible choice...

After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world.

Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has stolen some of her blood - and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or know it could be they are lost forever...
My thoughts: I received this book from the publisher for review, and I was so pleased when they contacted me because I've been dying to find out what would happen next to Opal. This is the third and final book in the Glass trilogy featuring Opal Cowan the glass magician. At the end of the second book (Sea Glass, read my review here) Opal lost her powers, and in Spy Glass she is on a quest to find her blood hoping she can regain some magic.
I was pleased to see that some of my favourite characters from the previous books were also in this one. I was especially pleased to see Ari and Janco again because I really love them.
I mentioned in my review of Sea Glass that there was a confusing appearance of the Bloodrose clan that I hoped would be cleared up in the third book. They did reappear in this book and the mystery surrounding them seems to have been resolved.

One last point to make is that if you've been following the series you'll know that Opal has been torn between Kade and Devlen. By the end of this book she has finally made the choice. I don't want to give anything away, but I think after reading the book I can understand her choice.

I really enjoyed this book, and I think it was a good end to the series. But there were some new characters introduced in this book that I really hope Maria is going to write some more books about!

Sunday 10 October 2010

In My Mailbox 18


This week's books are The Tin Princess, The Tiger in the Well, and The Shadow in the North all by Philip Pullman. After reading The Ruby in the Smoke I was looking for the next in the series on BookMooch and happened to find someone who had the whole set and was willing to send them all to me.

Also this week I got a 2010/2011 diary for noting down appointments etc. Plus I got some black and gold glittery nail polish from Missguided. It looks really good on because it looks black but the gold glitter makes it kind of shimmery.

Anyway, that's what I got this week, what did you get?

Oh by the way, I've started a writing blog in preparation for NaNoWriMo if you're interested :)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Monthly Round-up - September 2010, IMM 17

I'm a bit late with my monthly round-up and last weeks IMM. I spent the whole day on Sunday frantically typing a 1500 word essay that had to be in Monday morning. Anyway, that's out of the way now, so back to business.

September's news:
  • Birthday giveaway winners were announced
  • Started a Facebook for the blog
In my mailbox 17
Last week I got one book:
Fleshmarket Close (Inspector Rebus, #15)

Books read in September:
The One & Only by Sophie McKenzie
Entangled by Cat Clarke
Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder
Exurbia by Molly McGrann
The Outcast by Sadie Jones
Endal by Allen & Sandra Parton
The Pi**ed Off Parents Club by Mink Elliott
Puppy's Pet Pals by Gerald Durrell
Whisper of a Witch by Suza Kates

Total read: 9
It's so hard to choose a favourite book this month, they were all pretty great! If I absolutely had to pick I'd say Endal was my favourite just because it's completely different to anything I normally read.

Books reviewed in September:
Endal by Allen & Sandra Parton
A Wartime Poetry Journal by Effie M. Roberts
Moonshine by Christina Jones

Total reviewed: 3

Books received in September: 7 (10 if you count my uni books)
Added to wishlist: 6

What's coming in October?
I've signed up for NaNoWriMo in November, so throughout October I'll be preparing for that. Also, because all of the winners of my birthday giveaway were international readers I'm thinking of having a UK only competition.

Friday 1 October 2010

Birthday Giveaway Winners

There were three winners of my birthday giveaway, each winning a different book.

Winner of Happy Birthday by Christina Jones: Rebecca
Winner of The Birthday Room by Kevin Henkes: Bee
Winner of Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden: Audrey

Thanks everyone for entering, and I'll be having another giveaway soon so stay tuned!