Reader Girls Blog

We fell behind in posting our mailbox goodies so this is actually  a compilation from the last few weeks.  We received for review:  Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter Radiance by Allyson Noel Me, Myself and Why? by Mary Janice Davidson We received from swapping: The Mortal Instruments Boxed set & Audio Collection Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman Inside Out by Maria Snyder Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison We won (not pictured):  Other by Karen Kincy Ghostgirl: Lovesick by Tonya Hurley Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly From Book Tours: The Emerald Talisman by Brenda Pathos Dark Song by Gail Giles (not pictured) Tutored by Allison Whittenberg (not pictured) We purchased from (birthday) gift cards: Clockwork Angel , Mockingjay , Nevermore , The Haunted ,  Guardian of the Gate , Paranormalcy , Almost to Die For In My Mailbox   was started by   Kristi over at   The Story Siren . 

Shadow Hills is a YA paranormal thriller filled with danger, intrigue, mystery and romance. For those of our readers who have not read Anastasia Hopcus' debut novel, here's the summary:   After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend an uptight East Coast preparatory school in Shadow Hills, MA -- a school which her sister mysteriously mentioned in her last diary entry before she died.  Once there, Phe quickly realizes that something is deeply amiss in her new town. Not only does Shadow Hills' history boast an unexplained epidemic that decimated hundreds of its citizens in the 1700s, but its modern townies also seem eerily psychic, with the bizarre ability to bend metal. Even Zach -- the gorgeous stranger Phe meets and immediately begins ...

It's time for BlogFest 2010 and that means prizes! BlogFest 2010 has over 250 book bloggers hosting giveaways so go check them all out this weekend. Here's a blurb: THE BIG GIVEAWAY : Don't forget about the massive BlogFest 2010 grand giveaway!  Head on over to   http://ajourneyofbooks.halfzero.net   and click on the Tracking Site link to head to our own exclusive tracking site.  Once there you can register with a valid email address (to be used solely for the purpose of contacting the winner).  This site will allow you to track your progress through BlogFest 2010!  You can log on from anywhere at any time and continue where you left off.  The best part is that every blog that you visit and mark off through this tracking site will give you one entry into the massive giveaway!  We have a great collection of books, goodies and other swag that is looking for a new home! More details about the giveaways can be found here The Rules for entering o...

Reading Level: YA Paperback: 370 pages Publisher: Crimson Oak Publishing LLC (April 7, 2010)  Book summary:   When seventeen-year-old Jane Taylor witnessed her father's death, something happened to her. Ever since, her thoughts have been consumed by death, going so far as to foresee the ever-changing deaths of those around her. Sixteen-year-old Emily Taylor resented her sister's closeness with their father, who died when she was six. With the strange ability to read minds, she drowns the voices out with drugs, sending Jane over the edge. When seventeen-year-old Wes Green was adopted, he moved in next door to Jane, finding in her a childhood friend turned high-school crush. All summer, the pain in his bones seemed unwarranted. He was done growing long ago. When senior year starts, however, the pain only gets worse. The foreseen changes are not expected, and far too animal for his taste. When Max Gordon found himself standing above the dying body of an innocent seven-year...

Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (August 1, 2010) BOOK SUMMARY: Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart. MY REVIEW:   The Iron King was one of my favorite fantasies this year so I couldn't wait to see what would happen to Meghan and her assorted gang of otherworldly friends. I dove into The Iron Daught...

It's her destiny to die young. The man who loves her can't live with that. Promise, a talented young vocalist with a terminal illness, is counting on fame to keep her memory alive after she dies. Porta is an aging witch and art collector in search of the goddess who will grant her immortality. When Promise inexplicably survives a series of freak accidents, Porta believes that Promise is the one she seeks. But Chase, an autistic artist who falls in love with Promise and opposes Porta, comes between the women with his mysterious visions and drawings, and plunges everyone into a flesh-and-blood confrontation over the true meaning of eternal life. Hmm, I don't know about you but that book summary makes me want to check this title out. The Promises She Keeps by Erin Healy (352 pages) will be published on February 8, 2011 by Thomas Nelson Publishers in paperback form. Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at breaking the spine .

Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 1 edition (September 6, 2010) Book summary: They strip her naked, of everything—undo her whalebone corset, hook by hook. Locked away in Wildthorn Hall—a madhouse—they take her identity. She is now called Lucy Childs. She has no one; she has nothing. But, she is still seventeen—still Louisa Cosgrove, isn't she? Who has done this unthinkable deed? Louisa must free herself, in more ways than one, and muster up the courage to be her true self, all the while  solving her own twisted mystery and falling into an unconventional love . .  My review: Wildthorn is a YA historical novel unlike any others I've read (with the exception of Barbara Quick's A Golden Web ). Louisa is such a unique heroine: spunky, independent, untraditional and fiercely intelligent. Those traits made her a likable character. She was a young woman before her time, living in an age where women were born a...