Friday, 29 June 2012

JUNE New Release Giveaway Hop

Welcome to Stop #4 of the 
June New Release Giveaway Hop!
The  June New Release Giveaway Hop
  is hosted by 
and 

Take time to visit the other blogs 
on this awesome giveaway!
Winner may choose one (1) of the following!
Be sure and 
comment on any ongoing Book Blast post
for 5 extra entries in this giveaway!











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What are you reading this summer?

The summer is already a month old but as I'm in my first week of vacation I'm curious of what you're reading this summer and what you associate with summer reading. Often people seem to read more light books with less serious content in the summertime than during the winter. I thought about this and found it a bit strange because summer usually means vacation and vacation means more time to read, so why not read the books you feel you don't have time to read the rest of the year? On the other hand it's time to relax and enjoy life so why not just relax you're mind with an easy read? Here's some of the books I want to read this summer:

Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2)Rules of attraction by Simone Elkeles:When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now. (From Goodreads)
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2)  In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation. (From Goodreads)



Divergent (Divergent, #1) In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.(From Goodreads)

Ready Player One Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. (From Goodreads).

Before I FallWhat if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. (From Goodreads)
Have you read any of these and what do you plan to read this summer?

Silje*

Thursday, 28 June 2012

Book review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.


*this review contains some spoilers*

My thoughts
Hush, Hush is a paranormal Young Adult book about angels. Lately there's been a bit of a craze about angel books, more and more pop up. While I absolutely love most angel books, I thought this one was a bit too complicated and similar to Twilight.

I liked Patch. Patch was awesome. Nora, on the other hand... not so much. We all know Patch is nothing good, even Nora does. She ignores her instincts to run away whenever she sees him, and often she's doing the opposite of what she originally wanted to do. And she doesn't ignores this instinct with just one boy, but two. It doesn't only confuse her, it confuses the reader too. I can tell you already that you don't know what's all happening until it's explained either hundred pages further when you already forgot it, or in the end.

And that's my next problem: There were way too many villains in this book, three namely. It made thinks confusing. It was just too much. Neither of these villains have a very clear way why they want Nora dead, though Patch and Chauncey had the same reason. Dabria was just being the jealous ex I suppose. Also, Patch had some great chances, but let them slip away. He didn't know what he wanted. One moment he wanted to kill Nora, the other moment he doesn't because he's in love with her. But I thought Angels couldn't feel things like love? You're left with a lot more questions than answers, which is also why I decided to read Crescendo and Silence.

The writing was alright. I liked how Fitzpatrick described certain things, and I also liked Vee. It was just the weird storyline and annoying characters that made me give this book only 3 stars. It could have scored 4 easily by writing style in my opinion.

However, if you love mysterious, intriguing and dangerous stories about angels, this is definitely a book to read!

Cover
The cover is stunning, the falling angel is a nice way to describe the topic of the book.

My rating of this book



Source
I bought the book at a Dutch bookstore.

Other links
Find this book on Goodreads
Becca Fitzpatrick's website
Becca Fitzpatrick's twitter



~ Sylke



Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Opening lines: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

So yeah I'm obviously on a vloll(and yes, my sense of humor is just that great ;)). Today I'm sharing the opening lines from Rachel Hartman's debut novel Seraphina. It is a YA high fantasy with DRAGONS!





What do you guys think about the vlog, the opening lines and so on?

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

Book Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

I'm going to start off in here with a review of a book I read in the beginning of 2012 and it's so far my best read this year. The book I'm talking about is The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.


From Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two.

The Sky Is Everywhere

My opinion:
 The Sky is Everywhere has many of the ingredients of a classic YA-novel, a love-triangle, a teenage girl struggling to find herself and an "evil" rival at school. So what made this book stand out for me? First off all it is beautifully written. It also contains a number of weird characters imposible not to like. For instance her giant of an uncle, who's quite the ladies-man and most of the time sits in a tree (!), the amazing Joe Fontaine, and the main character Lennie is also very realistic and complex.

The book mixes humour with sadness and soreness in a very successfull way. It combines more serious subjects as the grief of a sister and the abandonment of a mother with a beautiful an really cute story. It tells this story at times in a hilarious way (I saw the movie The Descendants just a week ago and this kind of storytelling is just my cup of tea.). Lenny is a bit melodramatic and the romance intense but in this particular book it really works for me. It's like all the emotions of the book are so strong that they come out of the book covers (it seems writing about this book makes me melodramatic;-). Though the book has some cliches, the weirdness and humour prevents it from getting to sentimental. In the beginning of it I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the writing but then I decided to just lean back and take it all in, and I didn't regret it for a second. Another thing I really liked about the book are all the little notes and poems Lennie writes on papercups, napkins, bathroom-walls, receipts and even on the soles of her shoes.

Goodreads says in the end of the synopsis that this book is perfect for fans of among others Francesca Lia Block. I have not read anything she's writtten but I have heard a lot about her. I know Mari was a bit sceptical about one of her books in this review, but I still think you should try this one though:-)

This book is so beautiful, and is both sad and funny. It has some really weird (in a good way) characters and is just bubbling with the emotions of a grief-stricken teenage girl in love. In case you didn't get it by now, I warn you; it's a very emotional read:-) 

Unfortunately I don't have the english copy available at the moment because there are so many quotes I would like to share with you. I'll be sure to share one with you later on Memorable Monday.

My rating of this book:

/ 

Source:
Review copy from the norwegian publisher Gyldendal in exchange for an honest review

Silje*

Monday, 25 June 2012

Passing The Pages: Random Summer Reads Giveaway!


Passing The Pages: Random Summer Reads Giveaway!: Hello Lovies, Summer is crazy but there are always fun books about. I have five books here that are ups for grab. The winner will get two ...

Sunday, 24 June 2012

Memorable Monday, a meme: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.



Welcome to Memorable Monday, a meme hosted by me where you and I can share a quote(or quotes) that we feel deserves a place in the spotlight. 




A favorite of mine from 2011
I finished Warm Bodies early in 2011 and when we reached December it was still one of my very favorite reads from that year. Have you read it?

If your answer to the question above is no, then I strongly recommend that you do pick up this novel. You can check out my review here. Also the movie adaptation of the novel will come to a cinema near you in the beginning of 2013, I cannot wait! In the meantime I'll share a wonderful quote from said book with you guys:
In my mind I am eloquent; I can climb intricate scaffolds of words to reach the highest cathedral ceilings and paint my thoughts. But when I open my mouth, everything collapses.

Add the link to your MM post here:



Want to know more about this meme?
Just read this post. The short and easy guide? I started this meme because I was tired of memes telling me what page I should look up a quote from or just picking one from a random page. I wanted to share a quote/quotes that I really enjoyed. Want to join? Just write a blog post where you share a quote that you like, come back here and leave a link in the inlinkz widget below.





 

Introducing Sylke

Hello everyone, my name is Sylke and I'm very happy to say I'm one of the new bloggers of Escape In A Book! As of now you will see my reviews and other book-related posts pop up every now and then. I'm very excited about blogging together with Mari and Silje.
^ That's me, sometime last year.


I'm a 15-year-old girl from the rainy Netherlands, that little country next to Germany. The world around me has always fascinated me, its nature and its inhabitants as well. Someday I'll travel the world and visit all the places people write novels about.



I love to draw, it's amazing to see what people can create with only a stick of graphite.
I also enjoy writing stories, and reading of course. Once my mother told me I read my first book when I was only two years old. Or well, I did not actually read it. Every night I asked my mom to read me a story about Miffy, and then one night I knew it by hard. As she flipped the pages I said the words on the page out loud.
The moment I realized I absolutely loved to read was when I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. At the time I was around seven or eight years old, and I finished the book in three days!
Lastly I like playing sports, especially athletics and swimming.

I wouldn't say I have a favourite book, there are a lot of books out there I loved. Some books I won't forget are Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, as well as Daughter of Smoke and Bones and Unearthly.
Some of my favourite films include Lord Of The Rings, Narnia and The Lion King.
My favourite tv-series are Merlin, Criminal Minds and Bones, although I often watch some other series too.

Well, that's basically me. I'm not that interesting honestly ;)
If there's anything else you would like to know you can just ask me.

~ Sylke

Saturday, 23 June 2012

Opening lines: Anne Greenwood Brown

So I had a day where I was devoted to making a couple of vlogs and I thought sharing the opening lines from the novel I'm currently reading would be a great idea. So here I am with my six year old(soon to be seven, that is very important) assistance:


My son has just recently begun to learn Englis in school so he insisted on making an appearance in this vlog ;)

Friday, 22 June 2012

The "In your pants" tag - vlog.

So what is better entertainment on a Friday night than the "In your pants" book tag?!" Never mind that I looked like something the cat had dragged in, I wanted to join the fun now :)






I hope at least one of those titles put a smile on your face.
Do leave a comment and tell me which one was your favorite.

Thursday, 21 June 2012

amberafterglow: A Million Suns Winner and New Giveaway...

amberafterglow: A Million Suns Winner and New Giveaway...:
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Congratulations  Sally Michele Shaw (you should have received an email from me) for winning the copy of  A Million Suns by Beth Revis!  I ...

Introducing Silje

Hello everybody, I am one of the new bloggers here at Escape in a Book. I´m very excited about blogging with Mari and Sylke. It´s my first time blogging in english, so I hope you´ll give me some time to adjust:-)

My name is Silje, I´m 31, and I live in Bergen, Norway with my almost 2-year old daughter and my boyfriend. I´ve been a book blogger since 2007 and started to blog about books when I began working as a school librarian. Now I have both a private book blog and a shared blog with all the school librarians in my county (both in norwegian).

 I still work as a school librarian at two different high schools so reading is both a hobby and part of my job (lucky me!). Even though I´m no longer a young adult (I guess just a plain adult), I really enjoy reading YA-novels and especially in the genres Dystopia, Sci-fi and Fantasy. You can also find me on Goodreads.


Here´s a photo of me in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, a beautiful small fairytale-like town in the south of the country.

So to the more interesting part (I guess, cause this is a book blog:-). Here are some of my favorites:

Books:
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Let the Right One In by John Avjide Lindqvist
Darlah by Johan Harstad (this was released earlier this year in english with the title 172 Hours on the Moon)
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Series:
Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R.Martin

Movies:
La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful)
Little Miss Sunshine
Goonies
The Lord of the Rings (haven´t read the book, shame on me!)

TV-series:
The Good Wife
Big Bang Theory
Game of Thrones
Glee
Criminal Minds
Sopranos
Dexter

As you might suspect I´m a big fan of TV-series and as Mari I also enjoy watching sports both live and on the television (but I ´m no fanatic:-)). Football/soccer is my favorite but I enjoy many sports, and I actually was an audience in the World Championship in figure skating in Gothenburg in 2008. I also like to travel and I dream about travelling more by train around Europe, and also to see places outside Europe .

You´ll see my reviews and other book related stuff  here at the blog from now on. I´m looking forward to it!

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Farewell from Nina

Saying goodbye kinda sucks, so I'm going to keep this short. I have been blogging here with Mari for over a year now, but no longer have the time to keep it up as I am also writing for my own book blog, am going to Europe for a month this summer, am going back to college this fall, and will be working two jobs (as a bookseller and a pole dance instructor!). I wish Mari all the best, and hope you all welcome her new co-bloggers with open arms!:)

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

2nd Annual Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop

The 2nd Annual Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop 
will take place from June 20th to 26th
Thanks to Uniquely Moi Books for co-hosting.



Plan to spend the longest day of the year entering giveaways as part of the Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop.

Leave a comment telling me what you would
 like to be doing on the longest day of the year and 
then fill out the Raffelcopter form below.

Contest will be open internationally.
I will be giving away 
a $10 Amazon/Barnes and Noble Gift card 
or I'll let you chose 
a book from Book Depository
up to $10 and as long as they ship
 free to you, you can enter.
Just make sure they ship to you. If not sure, 
 check here.
I love to win Gift Cards and 
these are the simplest and the best 
as far as I'm concerned.
For every 50 brand new followers,

I'll give away another $10 Gift card or
book from Book Depository.
AmazonGiftCard
B&N
Book Depository

Click on the "Read More" to take you to Rafflecopter--
If you have any problem getting Rafflecopter to come up,
generally refreshing the page will fix it.
Read "Click for Instructions" before answering the question!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, 17 June 2012

Book Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.
My thoughts:
Don't You Wish is young adult chick lit at it's very best! It is fun, cute and has an adorable romance, and is the perfect book to bring along for a day at the beach, in the park or anywhere else you hang out to read during summer.

I really liked Annie, both as Invisible Annie and popular Ayla. As Annie her life is incredibly boring, as Ayla her days are filled with the drama of the rich and popular, and the only thing the two have in common is Annie's personality. As she starts living life as Ayla she has to make some important decisions about who she wants to be - is it worth being hot and popular if it means your friends expect you to shoplift even when you have your own black AmEx card? Is it worth giving up your virginity to a guy you hardly know just because he's hot and he expects you to?

There is much I loved about Don't You Wish, like the fantastic Miami setting and the sweet romance, but what really got to me was Annie's relationship with her mom (both as Annie and Ayla). I haven't seen my own mom in almost two years, and there was just something so heartbreaking about some of the mother/daughter scenes and Annie's homesickness. I have to admit, I cried more than once.

If you like fun, easy reads about friendship, family and finding yourself, pick up Don't You Wish when it is released next month (or better yet, pre-order it), and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

Cover:
I love the heart-shaped glasses, and the dreamy feel of it. Very fitting!

My rating of this book:



Want to know more?
Add Don't You Wish to your Goodreads wish list
Visit Roxanne St. Claire's website
Follow Roxanne on Twitter

Full disclosure:
ARC received from NetGalley


This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Memorable Monday - Words of wisdom about fighting from Lili St.Crow!


Welcome to Memorable Monday, a hosted by me where you and I can share a quote(or quotes) that we feel deserves a place in the spotlight.  I can't wait to read the quote you've picked this week!




Started a new audiobook 
Last night I finished the audiobook I've been listening to the last couple of weeks, Forever  by Maggie Stiefvater. I'm so sad that I'll never again read a new story about Sam, Grace, Isabel and Cole :( So I was in the need for a kick-ass story to lighten my mood. What better choice then the second novel in Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series, Betrayals?! Dru is a heroine after my own heart. Here Dru is now sharing a word of wisdom about fighting:
I came up from the floor with a punch, getting my feet under me, and Irving grabbed my wrist. He used my momentum to whip me past him, but I’d expected that, hooked my other fingers, and got a handful of his face.That’s what Dad would have called “dirty fightin’,” something he approved of in a girl.

Hey, there are no rules in a fight. Thinking there are “rules” can get you killed. Dad drilled it into my head over and over again, you fight to win, to survive. Not to look good or give the other guy a chance.
Fighting the creatures of the night.
Author Lili St.Crow understands fighting alright, if one has to fight one should do it properly! If things that goes bump in the night comes after me I would use every trick in the book not caring a thing about fighting like a gentlewoman!

If you've never heard of The Strange Angels series before click here to check out my review of the first book in the series; Strange Angels.

Add the link to your MM post here:








Want to know more about this meme?
Just read this post. The short and easy guide? I started this meme because I was tired of memes telling me what page I should look up a quote from or just picking one from a random page. I wanted to share a quote/quotes that I really enjoyed. Want to join? Just write a blog post where you share a quote that you like, come back here and leave a link in the inlinkz widget below.





 

Friday, 15 June 2012

Stephenie Meyer writes new series and I didn't even know it!

This is news to me!
According to USA Today Stephenie Meyer is writing on a new series. This time she has chosen a mythological being very different from vampires. Meyer is writing about MERMAIDS. Now what do we think about that? I would love to hear your thoughts on this piece of information.


Stephenie Meyer known for her very handsome
 and sparkeling vampires!
Photo: ©
istockphoto/EdStock

I quote USA Today(read the entire article here):
Even Stephenie Meyer, who made her fame and fortune writing about vampires, told USA TODAY in March that she's writing about mermaids. (And, yes, she was wearing a silver mermaid necklace when she said it.)

The article on USA Today is a year old and I did not know this. Have I been living under a rock? Did any of you guys know? I feel so behind right now LOL

A big thanks goes to Stacey O'Neale for mentioning this to me on Twitter. Because of Stacey I fervently searched Google and finally found what I was looking for.

Don't forget to check out my WANTED post.
I need a new blog partner over at Escape In A Book, are you the one I'm looking for? 



WANTED: Partner in crime!

My dearest partner in crime, Nina, is a very busy lady and she has decided to focus what little time she has to spare on her own book blog. That is understandable, but that means I need a new blog partner or two. Are you the person I'm searching for?


Do you want to blog with Me?
Photo: ©Flickr/bgottsab
What am I looking for in a blog partner?
  • You have good English communication skills - remember I said good, not perfect!
  • A positive person.
  • Creativity.
  • Love YA!
  • A person that can write about two blogposts a week, for example
    one review and one other literature related post.
I might add that I have a vision of a future here on Escape In A Book with more author interviews and discussion posts among other things.



Wanna play with me? Photo: ©Flickr/emutold
Are you the one I'm searching for?
If so then do send me a couple of lines introducing yourself and also list a few of your favorite books/authors. Email me at: escapeinabook@hotmail.com

Nina will stop by to say her farewells in the near future.




Thursday, 14 June 2012

Clear Your Shelf June Giveaway Hop

CLEANUP  TIME  AGAIN!
It's time for some summer cleaning!
Normally, I open my giveaways internationally but since I'm shipping 3 books to you it's going to only be open to the US due to shipping costs.
I've got YAs, Paranormals, Romance, 
Horror, Sci Fi, Mysteries, Thrillers, 
Dystopians or a Variety. There will be new books that I've got an extra copy of or just haven't read, there are used books that I've read but have no space for, paperbacks, hardbacks, ARCs, you name it and it might be in this giveaway. If you have a 
genre preference you prefer 
or hate you can let me know.
These are just a few of the possibilities.



For the full list of participating bloggers on the hop.

This is a great way to meet more bloggers and win books. 



Click on the "Read More" to take you to Rafflecopter--
If you have any problem getting Rafflecopter to come up,
generally refreshing the page will fix it.
Read "Click for Instructions" before answering the question!





a Rafflecopter giveaway