Exchanging Books

Exchanging Books

Is an idea that was inspired from watching Padfootandprongs07 on youtube. It is where once a month you send a book to someone and they send a book back to you with whatever theme it is for the month. You can choose from what book you want to send to your book partner, as long as it is to do with the months theme.

If you would like to sign up and become apart of exchanging books, please do write so down below. After 48 hours I will do a random.org and put you with your book partners of the month. With your comment down below, please do recommend what type of book themes you would like to see.

Every month you will get a new book partner, so the more people that sign up the better.

- Happy Reading.

Review: Forgive My Fins By Tera Lynn Childs

Forgive My Fins By Tera Lynn Childs
Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy
Publisher: Harpercollins
Rating: A / 4 stars

Summary: Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

Review: The timing was so right for when I read this book. I sat in my garden in the lovely hot sun enjoying this summer breeze book. I didn't think I would like this book for some reason. Maybe its because its mermaids and who knows how it can be played out. I loved it though! We see Lily a girl of 17 years old in love with some hot jock Brody at school, who happens to want to bond with him. Theres a slight problem though, Lilys a mermaid and she accidently kisses the wrong boy. Who happens to be the annoying next door neighbour Quince who likes to bug Lily every chance he gets. So the only way to get her dream boy now is to get unbonded from Quince who happens to actually take being bonded to a mermaid quite well.

We get to see Lilys life on land and under the sea. I loved picturing how they lived underwater and how everything was detailed. Like the bed Lily slept on underwater were shells and different peices of underwater objects. I found it very creative for Tera to do. We also got to see how mermaids lived and what their lifestyle was like. It makes it almost believable.

The characters in the story were what made me enjoy this book mainly. I loved Quince. He was probably my favourite character. He comes across as this typical blonde jerk at the beginning, but after the first few chapters you see how much of a caring guy he actually is. I loved how he was with Lily and how he just wanted to protect her all the time. I rooted for him right from the beginning. When normally in a book I mostly root for who the character wants to be with but for once I kept wanting her to change her mind. Lily however sometimes needed a wakeup call. I understood she was a mermaid and that she basically came to land because she loved the way Brody was, but sometimes I felt she was obessed with him. Like she needed to realise what was actually in front of her instead of trying to go for someone who wasnt the person she thought they were. But then I felt this was very realistic because I'm sure every girl has gone through a stage at school of liking someone whos probably never going to like them back. I also liked Lilys father. He was very respecting when it came to Lilys wishes and was just looking out for her when she needed him.

I rated this an A because this book was super cute. Loads of mermaidness and romance along the way and it was also my first mermaid book and I really enjoyed reading something entirely different and new. My only problem with this was that some things I felt the characters needed more time with before they believed. Because if I was a human and I found out someone was a mermaid well yeah it wouldnt register in my brain in the first five seconds.

A

The Archived 6-month Countdown

The Archived 6-month Countdown

As you might know, today is the mark of 6 months, before this awesome cover on the left hand side comes out. Victoria Schwab is the author of the The Near Witch which was released later last year and is set for her upcoming new novel The Archived which will be released January 22nd 2013. It is a mixed of romance, paranormal and supernautral.

Summary: Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

To purchase this fabulous story: you can pre-order it @ amazon uk amazon usa 

Waiting On Wednesday: The Nightmare Affair #8

Hosted By Breaking the Spine. Every wednesday you pick a book your waiting to be released that you're excited for and share it with your book pals.

This week I'm waiting on The Nightmare Affair By Mindee Arnett.

Summary: 16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.

And then it comes true.

Now the Dusty has to follow the clues--both within Eli’s dreams and out of them--to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Are you excited for this one? I sure am. It sounds creepy, scary, exciting, romantic all at the same time! This sounds so new to alot of YA thats been floating about latley and I love new story concept. But we have to wait till march!

Date Release: March 5th 2013
Publishers: Tor Teen

Review: As You Wish By Jackson Pearce

As You Wish By Jackson Pearce
Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy.
Publisher: Harper Teen.
Rating: B / 3.5

Summary: A brokenhearted Viola inadvertently summons a genie into her world. Jinn agrees to stay until Viola makes three wishes, but she's afraid she won't wish for the right thing. Jinn can't deny that he's falling for Viola, and only after she makes her first wish does Viola realize she's in love with Jinn.

Review: This is my first Jackson Pearce book that I have read. It had been on my bookshelf a little while now and because it was a genie related book I knew I had to read it sooner or later because I love genies. The story revolves around a girl named Viola who happens to be a very broken, slightly lonely girl. Whos bestfriend happens to be her ex-boyfriend who told her just six months ago that he was gay and this happens to be the reason to why she is so alone. She happens to really want to fit in again and feel like she is apart of something in the crowd at school and thats where the genie (also known as Jinn) comes along. Straight from the beginning Jinn makes it clear that he wants to hurry the wishes up so he can go back to Caliban. But as Viola knows wishes dont always mean things go the way you want them too, so she takes her time to think on them. That leads to Jinn having to spend time with Viola which leads to Jinn questioning himself on if he really wants to leave Viola and go back to his own world.

I enjoyed this book simply for the fact that I loved Jinn. He was a sweet, caring genie. Who at first comes across as impatient and pissed off. He was very quirky with his words with Viola and always wanted what was best for her. After being there for a few days you got to see how much he had developed a passion for being on earth, and how much he just wanted to fit in. Unlike Jinn, Viola annoyed me. There were times when I really wanted to shut the book because she just moaned and felt sorry for herself so much. It was like yes your boyfriend broke up with you six months ago, you need to get over it and realise theres more in life then sitting in your bedroom depressed. Right at the end I did start to like her but I just thought she was very self-centered. I also liked Violas best friend Lawrence because he also knows about Jinn being a genie and I just thought he was the awesome gay bestfriend everyone wishes they had.

The ending was written on a good note. There is a little twist. It ended the way it should. I felt it was the right way to go because she could of totally gone the cliche way and she didn't. I think the ending was cute and it reminded me of possibly a disney movie in the future who knows. It was a quick- read- book and I deffinetly reccomend it if your wanting something light to read in the summer.

I rate this:

Letterbox Love (6)

Letterbox Love is a weekly book meme, showing everyone what books you have brought, been gifted and been sent in the week. Showing your love at the end of the week, with everything you have recieved in the letterbox. Hosted by Lynsey @ Narrativelyspeaking inspired by Alea @ Pop Culture Junkie.

This week I brought:

1. Personal Demons - By Lisa Desrochers.
2. Between The Lines - By Jodi Picolt & Samantha Van Leer.
3. Anna Dressed In Blood - By Kendare Blake.
4. Dead Hemlock - By Kathleen Peacock. ( I don't know why they've change the name of this)
5. Unravelling - By Elizabeth Norris.

I recieved for review:

Revamped By Ada Adams. Thankyou so much for shipping this all the way from America! And including some signed swag aswell.
What did you guys get this week?

Review: Epic Fail By Claire LaZebnik

Epic Fail By Claire LaZebnik                                                    Genre: Young Adult/ Contempary.
Publisher: Harperteen.
Rating: B / 3.5 stars.

Summary: At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Cast in point:

- As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school - not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
- As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn't exactly on everyone's must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise's beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince's best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Review: I read this simply for the fact that I want to start getting into the summer reads and I heard this was a cute, easy read. Which it was. The story takes place around Elise whos family and herself have just moved to L.A. With her mom now being the principal of her new school. There, she and her sister Julia stick together and decide to stay with each other during lunch. Which leads to Julia her sister instantly taking a liking to a boy called Chase whos parents own a studio. Because of them having lunch with Chase for Julias sake, Elise has to deal with Derek Edwards Chase bestfriend and also son of the most famous people in America. But its not easy because Derek happens to be ignorant and unsociable.

I thought the concept of this was really sweet. It's based on the book Pride and Prejudice, which I havent actually read myself. But I know of certain events that happen in that story. And there are a few simular intakes. Like Darcy in Pride and Prejudice; Derek is wealthy and arrogant in some ways. He takes a liking to Elise but comes across as shallow, since he dosent interact well with alot of people who idolize him. Like Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice; Elise is a delightful character, who dosent come from money, who only wants to go out with someone for their personality not for their wealth and sees Derek as an actual person not a celebritys spawn. Shes very close with her family and you can tell how much she cares about them. I really liked the sisters in this story and how very real they were. How you got to know a bit about her family and how they stuck together. Even though their little sister Layla was annoying at times and you wanted to slap her you could tell she was just a young sister wanting to be apart of their fun.

The ending was major fluff and cute. It wasnt the best book I've ever read or the worst.  I just didn't like the way they ended things with Webster, I felt that was a little rushed. The book quickly started and quickly ended, it was a light read. Nothing thats to in depth, just something to read in the summer sun. If your looking for a intelligent read then I wouldnt say this is the one. This book goes straight into it and yes there were parts where I thought maybe they could of dragged it out a little but this is a quick light read book thats obviously not supposed to be too long to read. The characters quickly like each other and things quickly happen so if your wanting a fast paced book I would say to read this.
If your doing a summer challenge this year I would add this book to your list :D

I rate this:

Review: Journal Of A Schoolyard Bully By Farley Katz

Journal of a Schoolyard Bully
Genre: Middlegrade
Publisher: St Martins Press

Summary: In the tradition of the mega successful DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and DORK DIARIES comes Niko Taylor, a school bully who must keep a journal to right all the wrongs he has done, but Niko, being a habitual trouble-maker, has other ideas.

Niko Kaylor, the terror of his middle school, doles out wedgies and collects money he doesn’t need. When he is forced to begin keeping a journal of his activities to curb his bullying ways, he secretly turns his diary into a how-to guide for bullies. Now, against the wishes of his peers, Niko plans to conquer his middle school and teach everyone a lesson in bullying, including his teachers. 

Review: I found this while sorting my room out, it happened to be in the wadrobe. It was sent for review and I must of lost it in the midst of all the stuff I have. I went into reading this thinking it was going to be like Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. Which I loved (well the film) It tells the tale of a boy called Niko who happens to love bullying people. He bullies people that much that he has to have some counselling. I found this book to be rather boring and not funny at all. There was no moral to the story, just a middle grade boy getting his kicks for bullying children. Literally all through the book he was plotting to bully someone different. I thought that maybe it would change throughout the book and that maybe he would learn a lesson, that bullying is unacceptable. But even the ending was a dissapointment and there was no lesson learnt. If anything it was sending a message to kids that bully is a fine thing to do. I dont know if the author meant for the book to have the meaning of this, but thats what it came across because the main character Niko in the story carried on bullying.

I think it didnt help that it was diary formed either because I find it hard to read books like this, or that it was middlegrade because the boy had such a wild imagination I didnt know if what he was saying was actually true. I dont reccomend this for young adult reads. I would say a young ten year old boy would probably enjoy this and find it funny. I dont think I could really find any good points to this book apart from the sketches they were pretty funky and done wonderfully.

I rate this: D

Letterbox Love (5)

Letterbox Love is a weekly book meme, showing everyone what books you have brought, been gifted and been sent in the week. Showing your love at the end of the week, with everything you have recieved in the letterbox. Hosted by Lynsey @ Narrativelyspeaking inspired by Alea @ Pop Culture Junkie.

This week I recieved:

This week I only got one book haha. Paper Towns By John Green. Which was sent to me as a RAK present. From Claire @WHNBSTIHWSOFT -http://whnbstihwsoft.blogspot.co.uk/ Thankyou very much. Since I didnt buy any books this week, well... I ordered some that should be arrving shortly next weeks haha.

What did you get this week?

Summer Reads Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to my stop on the Summer Reads Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Rex Robot Reviews. I am excited to be giving away an awesome summer read for you. You have the chance to choose out of four summer books from the titles below. I will be shipping it from The Book Depository.

• The Summer I Turney Pretty. 
• Going Too Far.
• The Duff.
• Where I belong.

Rules: Follow the rafflecopter rules. This is international, so anyone can join in the fun :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Random Acts Of Kindness: June Wrap Up!

At the end of every RAK month, if you have recieved or given a book you share it on your post for everyone to see. Random Act Of Kindness is a great chance to be randomly kind and send books to bloggers and if your lucky, be given books yourself. Its hosted by @BookSoulMates. To sign up click here.

This month I sent out two books.

I sent out Holes to Claire @WHNBSTIHWSOFT - http://whnbstihwsoft.blogspot.co.uk/

And I sent out Amy & Rogers Epic Detour to @Misty from Bookaholic Book Club - http://bookaholicsbkcl.blogspot.co.uk/

I hope the girls enjoy their books very much. I;ve read both this books before and I personally think there amazing.

I recieved this week Saving June: from Lauren @Northern Plunder. -
http://northernplunder.blogspot.co.uk/
Thankyou ever so much. I look forward to this one.

I also recieved Paper Towns from Claire - @WHNBSTIHWSOFT -
http://whnbstihwsoft.blogspot.co.uk/
Thankyou I cant wait to read this one aswell, looks awesome.

Thankyou to both girls for being super lovely and for getting books that looks amazing!
What did you recieve or send this RAK month?

Review: Fifty Shades Darker By E.L.James

Fifty Shades Darker By E.L.James
Genre: Adult Fiction
Publisher: Vintage

Summary: Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

Review:
So this is the second in the series of Fifty Shades. I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one. Yes- there is still alot of sex! But there is more of a summary and deffinetly more drama going on, and I just love drama to stir things up. The only thing that E.L.James keeps doing to me which annoys me is making the beginning of the book slow and boring. It's like we start the first few chapters very pointless with nothing exciting going on and then bam once we come to the middle of the book, the story finally starts to kick in again. Its like example: (Spoiler Alert) We start the beginning with Anastasia not with Christian anymore and you just see her moping about missing him and then a chapter later their back together and it just annoyed me they needed to build their relationship up properly. (Spoiler Alert Over!) But as usual E.L.James always delivers when it comes to hot chemistry because everyone knows who reads this book that she creates this sexual tension with the characters all the time, no matter how many times they have sex you can feel the love from one and other.

I loved Christian alot more in this book than in the first one aswell. I found that he was starting to open up alot more and create feelings for Ana. And the way he starts to really care for her makes you fall in love with him yourself. He's just such a gentleman, even though he is a controlling, Ana seems to change him in so many different ways. I liked how Ana was starting to grow a backbone for herself aswell and was starting to challenge him.

The ending to this second book was brilliant! It left you with a cliffhanger. And you have to read the next book or you just dont know whats going to happen. I deffinetly sense alot more drama and suspense in the next book.

I rate this:

July Book Releases

This months July book releases Im looking forward to:

1. Something Stranger and Deadly - By Susan Dennard.
2. Such A Rush - By Jennifer Echols.
3. Pushing The Limits - By Katie McGarry.
4. The Thing About The Truth - Lauren Barnholdt.
5. Tiger Lily - By Jodi Lynn Anderson.
6. 52 Reasons To Hate My Father - By Jessica Brody.

Some great books this month, what book releases are you looking forward to this month?

Letterbox Love (4)

Letterbox Love is a weekly book meme, showing everyone what books you have brought, been gifted and been sent in the week. Showing your love at the end of the week, with everything you have recieved in the letterbox. Hosted by Lynsey @ Narrativelyspeaking inspired by Alea @ Pop Culture Junkie.

This week I recieved:

1. A Midsummers Nightmare - By Kody Keplinger. Bought.
2. Angel Dust - By Sarah Mussi. An ARC sent to me from HotKey books thankyou!
3. The Other Countess - By Eve Edwards. Bought.
4. The Gathering Dark - By Leigh Bardugo. Bought.

Some great books this week, am so excited to read them all. I got all the books apart from Angel Dust online from amazon. Seriously if you live in England, I recommend amazon for your books because waterstones and whsmith are just so exspensive, thats if your trying to find a bargain book and want to cut out money on books.

What did you guys get this week? Put your links below. Ill have a look.