April 23, 2011

Stay Giveaway Winner!

My first competition is all wrapped up now, and the winner was Stella - congrats! Her blog is located here.


Thanks to everyone who entered, I hope you stick around the blog and enjoy what you see. Have a great Easter! :)

April 19, 2011

Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

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Summary (from GoodReads): It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.


Review: I have to admit, I went into this book with this book with quite high expectations and although The Goddess Test didn’t quite meet these expectations, I found myself really enjoying the story and am highly anticipating the sequel.
The start of this novel was a tad slow for my liking, and Kate seemed to go a bit back and forth character-wise, which was annoying, but was this was all resolved once Kate arrived at Henry’s mansion. After this point, the characters seemed more three-dimensional, and I found myself warming up to Kate and - eventually - Henry. Henry was quite a hard character to like at first, as he is very moody, demanding and sometimes a bit sulky. Kate felt similarly, and as she got to know Henry and discovered the reasons why he is the way he is, I felt my heart softening towards him. Although I doubt he’ll ever become one of my favorite male leads, he certainly did improve as The Goddess Test progressed.
Another aspect of the novel that I enjoyed were the side characters. They were all well-drawn and I’m particularly taken with James, who I’m hoping is going to have a big part to play in the second novel. I also liked Kate’s ladies-in-waiting, Ella, Calliope and Ava, they were all interesting characters that didn’t blend together - instead all having definite personalities that made them unique.
Overall, this was a very impressive debut from Aimee Carter and I’m looking forward to see whether she can continue to impress with the rest of this series. With a debut as strong as The Goddess Test, I’m sure she’ll have no trouble at all!
Rating: 4 out of 5

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley. This in no way influenced my review.

April 6, 2011

Waiting On Wednesday (5) Instructions For A Broken Heart

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
PhotobucketTitle: Instructions For A Broken Heart
Author: Kim Culbertson
Release Date: May 1st 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated
Synopsis (from Goodreads): Three days before her drama club's trip to Italy, Jessa Gardner discovers her boyfriend in the costume barn with another girl. Jessa is left with a care package from her best friend titled "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard," instructing her to do one un-Jessa-like thing each day of the trip. At turns hilarious and heartwrenching, Instructions for a Broken Heart paints a magical Italy in which Jessa learns she must figure out life-and romance-for herself.

Why I'm waiting on it: Okay, how promising is that synopsis? And it's set in Italy! I'm totally sold on this book already, and can't wait until May!

What are you waiting on this week? And while you're at the blog, check out my giveaway for Stay by Deb Caletti here.

April 3, 2011

Mix It Up Monday (3)

Mix It Up Monday is a meme hosted here at Crack A Spine Book Reviews. On the first Monday of each month I will post a review of a book that:
a) I wouldn't normally read, or
b) Wouldn't normally be reviewed on a YA blog.
Link-up under the review.
PhotobucketSummary: No secret is too dark.
No revelation too sick. But you must have the appetite for it.
After forty years, twenty-eight ODs, three botched suicides, two heart attacks, a couple of jail stints, and a debilitating stroke, Steven Adler, the most self-destructive rock star ever, is ready to share the shattering untold truth in My Appetite for Destruction.
With Adler's newfound clarity comes a fierce determination to tell it all. Revelatory, heartbreaking, hilarious, and ultimately inspirational, you will never read anything more jaw-droppingly honest than My Appetite for Destruction.
Review: I’m a huge fan of Guns N’ Roses, so I’ve read my fair share of biographies about them. After reading the band’s ex-guitarist, Slash’s autobiography, I was more than a bit dubious about picking up ex-drummer Steven Adler’s book. After all, he is the one that has the severest drug problems, and probably has the worst memory of all the band members. However, although I was far from blown away by this autobiography, I did end up enjoying it more than I thought I was going to.
Alder starts the story at his childhood, and quickly sets the tone for the rest of the book - whining, moaning, and a whole heap of blaming others for his own mistakes. He is someone that seems to have an excuse for every bad choice he makes, and is convinced that everyone but himself is to blame for his life has turning out the way it has. Although this sort of attitude is okay for a teenager, on a 40+ year-old man, it just seems pathetic. 
I also wasn’t a huge fan of a lot of the anecdotes Adler chose to share with his readers. They seemed random and many of them were pointless to the progression of his life, so I couldn’t understand why he felt the need to keep them in the book. Adler is a recovered drug addict, but you couldn’t tell from reading this book - the many ways he glorifies drug-use is mind-boggling. Instead of facing up to his problems, Adler seems to have deluded himself into a false sense of security, and reading this book, I feel that it is only a matter of time before he falls off the wagon.
For all these flaws though, I did find myself enjoying this book. It was a quick read and, I will admit, some of the stories Adler shared were very entertaining. Overall though, unless you’re a die-hard Guns N’ Roses fan, stay away from this book. There are many more rock biographies on shelfs that don’t smack of desperation, whining and pathetic attempts to relive the ‘glory days’.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

International Giveaway: Stay by Deb Caletti

PhotobucketI recently hit the 50 followers mark, so to celebrate I'm giving away Stay by Deb Caletti! If you haven't read my review, it's located here.I absolutely loved this book and I know many of you will too.

Summary: Clara's relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she's ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it's almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is - and what he's willing to do to make her stay.


Now Clara has left the city - and Christian - behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won't let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough...


Contest Details
- To enter, fill out the form below.
- Must be 13 to enter.
- Must be a follower.
- Contest is international.
- Runs until 17th April.