Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year 2013 Giveaway Hop!



It's that time of the year again! And by that I mean it's time for the Happy New Year 2013 Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer, and Babs Book Bistro. I had so much fun participating in the 2012 Hop, I wanted to be able to do it again this year.




This year has been an eventful one for me, to say the least. ;) I found out that one of my kitty cats is diabetic (just like me and my Baby Sister. Crazy, right?) and I survived the end of the world. AGAIN. And I'm pretty sure that if you're reading this post, it means that you survived too. So, yay us! There are so many things that I'm looking forward to this year. In March, The Host movie comes out, in August the City of Bones movie comes out, in November Catching Fire comes out, I get to hear more about the other book-to-movie adaptions like Divergent, House of Night, Shadow Falls, Vampire Academy, etc. Not to mention all the AWESOME books that are coming out... Yes, I think that 2013 will be a good year/




ANYWAYS, on to the part you're looking for..... THE GIVEAWAY!




One lucky winner gets to choose one of the following (click on the name of the book for a link to it on Good Reads):

1. Reality Chick by Lauren Barnholdt

2. Dantalion of the Goetia by Tina M. E.

3. Vacations From Hell by Various Authors

4. Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith

5. Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer




To enter, the only mandatory entry is that you follow me via GFC or Linky. Once you do that, please leave me a comment with your follower name, a valid e-mail address, and the name of the book that you'd like. you can earn extra entries by following me any other way GFC, Linky (Depending on how you followed me for the mandatory entry), Networked Blogs, e-mail, or you can follow me on Twiiter HERE. That gives you at least five chances to win. Just make sure that when you do you leave a separate comment with the appropriate follower names and whatnot. And now for the rules
****RULES****
1. US only.
2. One winner will be chosen and they will be able to choose ONE of the books listed.
3. The contest will run from January 1st to the 7th.
4. The winner will be chosen by Random.org on the 8th, and they will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
5. I am not responsible for any lost/damaged items.
6. I double check the entries before announcing the winner, so please make sure that you are following me or you will be disqualified *SAD FACE*

Okay, well that's all the boring stuff, so go ahead and get to Hopping! Make sure you check out all the other awesome giveaways.You can find the full list of participating Blogs here

Happy New Year, my lovely followers!
-Kait

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Random Pin Of The Day

Todays Pin is.....

Oh, yes. I am always carrying around a book with me, and whenever I get the chance, I whip it out and start reading it. It doesn't matter where I am. My little sister is always making fun of me for it. But hey, I am perfectly comfortable with my level of nerdiness ;)

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Random Pin Of The Day

Okay, so you probably don't know this, but I am ADDICTED to Pintrest. Completely and totally addicted. I could spend hours on that website--when I'm not reading of course--looking at all the pins. In fact, when I first joined Pintrest it was kind of like....
And I'm always finding all  these cool book related pins, too. So I thought I would share some of them with you. The first one is:
Click HERE to go to the website where this picture originated from.

No, I really don't understand people who don't like reading. It just doesn't make any sense to me! When people say that I always think Uhh, what did you just say??




**I do not own nor do I claim to own the rights to any photos I used. They all came from Pintrest, and I will do everything I can to give proper credit, but if you have a Pintrest account, you'll know how hard that can be sometimes.**

Friday, June 1, 2012

Splash Into Summer Giveaway Winner!

Thank you soooo much to everyone who entered!! I love being able to take part in Blog Hops, they're so much fun! Okay, and the winner is....

SAYOMAY


Woo! Congratulations!! I have just sent an email, and you have 48 hours to reply before another winner is chosen. Make sure to check your spam box.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Splash Into Summer Giveaway Hop


It's finally summertime! I am excited to be participating in the Splash into Summer Giveaway Hop hosted by Kathy over at I am a Reader Not a Writer, and Page Turners Blog. Once you make finish entering here, make sure to hop over HERE to see the full list of Blogs participating. I am starting mine a little bit early, so not everyone will have their giveaways up yet.

I have three different books, and one lucky winner will get to choose the one they want. The choices are:

Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen  






                        Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith





AND


Pharmacology by Christopher Herz












The only MANDATORY  entry is to follow  me on GFC, and then leave me a comment telling me your GFC name and your email address. (I will be checking before I announce the winner.)

Optional Entries
* Subscribe via email (it's in the right sidebar) leave me a separate comment telling me what email you used.
*Follow me through LINKY (in the right sidebar) again, please leave me a separate comment with your follower name and email so that I can contact you if you win.

And now for the boring stuff:
1) This Hop runs from may 25 to May 31
2) There will be one winner who will get to choose one of the books shown above.
3) The winner will be chosen using Random.org on June 1st.
4) I will email the winner on June 1st and they will have 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner.
5) This Giveaway is US only
6) I am NOT responsible for any lost/damaged prizes

Whew, now that that's out of the way, go ahead and enter, don't forget to check out all the other awesome Blogs participating as well! I promise to try and figure Rafflecopter out for the next Blog Hop! ;)

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Big News For Today!!!

Hey you, yes YOU!!

Guess what?

It's May 15th! Can you believe it? Where did all the time go?? Well, I have some fun and exciting things to tell you, so keep on reading!

I am happy to tell you that not only does The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab come out in paperback TODAY, but, to celebrate its release, "The Ash-Born Boy" is finally up over at  Disney Hyperion




  


So, I know you're wondering what "The Ash-Born Boy" is.Well It's a free story Victoria wrote as a thank-you to her fans,  and she wrote it to answer ONE question that we've all been wondering: "Who was Cole before he came to Near?" Hmmmm.....



Now, if you've already read The Near Witch (which, by the way, is a completely awesome book), "The Ash-Born Boy" is guaranteed to change the way you see Cole.



And if you haven't read THE NEAR WITCH yet, don't worry, "The Ash-Born Boy" won't spoil anything!


So basically, either way, you should go read Cole's story ;) Seriously, go read it, right now!!


And if you want to wait and read THE NEAR WITCH first, don't worry! Cole's story will stay up on Disney*Hyperion's website, and if it ever comes down, Victoria will carve out a space for it on her own site. It will always be available somewhere, and it will always be free.



And! Yes, there is more!!


Cole's story isn't the only goodie to go along with the paperback release. In the back of the paperback itself, you'll find the first chapter of Victoria's new book, THE ARCHIVED, which doesn't come out until January! YAAAYYY!!  Happy Dance time!! :D


So what are you waiting for? Help Victoria celebrate today by taking a look at "The Ash-Born Boy," and don't forget to buy/order/pick up your own paperback copy of THE NEAR WITCH! Let me know in the comments what you think of the story!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Hunger Games!

*This was supposed to have posted last week, but apparently I am having issues with my computer doing what it''s supposed to do*

Okay, I don't usually go to the movies when they are at the theater because it is really expensive, but I made an exception and went to see The Hunger Games movie with a couple of friends last Saturday... It was definitely worth it! We were so excited, we were bouncing in our seats waiting for the previews to be over. I am going to start out by saying DO NOT read any farther if you have not read the books, or if you have not seen the movie, because there WILL be spoilers!

It was a truly epic movie in the best way possible. It stayed pretty close to the book, and even the things that were changed didn't really annoy me, it made it better. I have been impatiently waiting for it to come out for forever, and I probably annoyed my family with my constant Hunger Games chatter, the same way I did when I was waiting for the Twilight movies to come out.

I liked the fact that you get to see Haymitch behind the scenes, working to keep Katniss and Peeta alive. and speaking of behind the scenes, I loved seeing how the arena was really being controlled. I'm not sure how I pictured it, but I like this way much better.

I am definitely a Team Peeta girl, but Gale is pretty cool too, and watching the movie and seeing his reaction to Katniss and Peeta, made me feel so sad for him! I never really thought much about what his reaction to everything would be while I was reading the book, but the movie doesn't let you forget about him, every once in awhile it would cut to a scene of his face, and he just looked so sad!

Here are some of the scenes that really stuck with me in no particular order... Well, not really:


10.) The Victors of District 12















I knew that this was coming, but I still had an "Oh My GOSH" reaction. I had this huge smile on my face because, woo hoo, they did it!!



9.) The Fireballs



This scene was one of my favorites in the whole movie, it was really intense, and had me sitting on the edge of my seat.



8.) Katniss and Gale say good bye 

One word. AWWWWWW!.



7.) Katniss and Cinna say good bye

Ah, Cinna. He is my absolute, without a doubt, favorite character in the series!




6.) The Outfits!!
The outfits were totally and completely amazing. Of course it doesn't look as cool in the pictures, but trust me, it was awesomesauce.


5.) Rue Dies
When this happened I cried and cried, and cried some more. I don't think there was anyone in the theater that didn't get a little teary eyed.


4.) Peeta's confession

There were four of us that went to see The Hunger Games, and two of us were Team Peeta  and the other two were Team Gale. So when this part came on, me and my Team Peeta friend were sitting there smiling HUGE smiles, saying "Awww" (quietly of course). While the other two were just laughing at us.



3.) "I volunteer as Tribute!"
This is why I love Katniss as much as I do. She loves her sister and will do anything to keep her safe. It's the same way I feel about my baby sister.



2.) Kat up a tree


AH! I loved this part of the movie so much! It's right after Katniss runs into the Careers and has climbed up into a tree. They can't reach her by climbing so they try shooting her with an arrow and fail big time. So Katniss laughs and says: "Why don't you try throwing the sword?"



1.) The Mutts

I can't find a picture of the Mutts, but they're nothing like the way they are described in the books. That fact didn't bug me too much, it was just something that, for some reason, popped out at me and screamed "Not the same!" I don't even know why. That scene was really intense, even if you've already read the books. I wanted to cover my eyes a few times. (***If anyone knows where I can find a picture of the Mutts to put up here, please let me know!)


The only bad thing is the fact that now I have to wait so long for it to come out on DVD, and then after that, I will be driving myself crazy while waiting for Catching Fire.... SIGH, wish me luck!




Monday, March 12, 2012

Memorable Monday (6)

Memorable Monday is an awesome meme hosted over at Escape In A Book and it gives us a chance to share our favorites quotes




This week I picked a quote from Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey: 

"Quiet and fragile are two very different things"

So what about you? Have you found any quotes that you absolutely love? If so i would love to hear about them in the comments!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Memorable Monday (5)

Memorable Monday is an awesome meme hosted over at Escape In A Book and it     gives us a chance to share our favorite quotes



This week, I picked another quote from Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder:




“Everyone grieves in different ways. For some, it could take longer or shorter. I do know it never disappears. An ember still smolders inside me. Most days, I don’t notice it, but out of the blue, it’ll flare to life.”

Monday, February 27, 2012

Memorable Monday (4)

Memorable Monday is an awesome meme hosted over at Escape in a Book and it gives us a chance to share our favorite quotes

This week I picked a quote from Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder:


"Don't Knock the power of a pest," Leif said. "Persistence and stubbornness can be useful in many situations."

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Memorable Monday (On Tuesday) (3)

I totally spaced this yesterday,so I will post it today instead.

Memorable Monday is a meme that is hosted over at Escape in a Book and it gives us a chance to share our favorite quotes. 


                                                This week I picked a quote from The Hunger Games


 “You’ve got about as much charm as a dead slug.”

                                                                              Oh Haymitch, how you make laugh

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Waiting On Wednesday (4) The Immortal Rules

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking The Spine and gives us the chance to shine the spotlight on the books that we are extremely excited for.

This week, my pick is...
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
                                           
                               Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by Harlequin Teen


Summary From Goodreads:
In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.    

Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.

Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.


Why I can't wait: I absolutely LOVED Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, and I am excited  to see her spin on vampires.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (3): Books That Broke My Heart Just A Little

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at The Broke And The Bookish, and this week the theme is Books That Broke Your Heart.

Here is the list of books that broke my heart at one point or another.

**Just a little warning, some of my notes on the books that I picked have some spoilers. So if you haven't read any of the books listed below, you probably don't want to read any farther than the title of the book**










1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I cried so much while reading this book. For Katniss and Peeta and Finnick and Gale and Prim, and so many others, it was crazy!

2. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. My heart broke for Jacob about a thousand times over

3. The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I was so sad because I really liked Wanderer and Melanie, and I had no idea how it would be possible for them both to make it out of the situation they were in.

4. Jane by April Lindner. This book made me cry a lot, even if it wasn't really a sad part. I'm still trying to figure out why. Hmmm

5. Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Oh. My. Gosh. The ending of this book gave me horrible flashbacks to Catching Fire/Mockingjay where Peeta gets kidnapped and the Tracker Jacker venom messed him up. :(

6. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. My heart broke at some point while reading ALL of the books in this trilogy, actually.

7. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. Poor Jem!! poor Will!! I love you Magnus!! (Oops, did I just write that? My bad)

8. Everneath by Brodi Ashton. The ending just KILLED me. GRR!!!!

9. The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. I felt just awful for Kyra and the situation she was in.

10. The Lost Saint by Bree Despain. Poor Daniel! And I still don't know what's going to happen to him!!!!!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Memorable Monday (2)

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted over at Escape In A Book and it gives us a chance to share our favorite quotes
This week I picked a line from one of my favorite books Thrill Ride by Rachel Hawthorne

 "Relationships are a lot like roller coasters, filled with highs and lows, terrifying split seconds, and awesome moments where you just enjoy the ride." 

I thought this quote was super cute, and I absolutely love it!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Memorable Monday (1)

Memorable Monday is a brand new meme hosted over at Escape In A Book and it gives us a chance to share some of our favorite quotes. I really like this meme because I love collecting quotes. I have this neat little notebook, and whenever I find a quote that I really like I write it down.


For my first MM quote I chose a line from Amy And Roger's Epic Detour:

“Saying good-bye is basically an invitation not to see a person again. It's making it okay for that to be the last conversation you have. So if you don't say it--if you leave the conversation open--it means you'll have to see them again." 

I absolutely loved this quote, and agree with it wholeheartedly. I've never liked saying goodbye to anybody, I would rather just say "See you later". So when I read this, it really stuck with me.

Friday, February 3, 2012

TGIF @GReads (2)

TGIF is hosted by Ginger over at GReads and this Friday the question is...

Book Appeal: When you're browsing goodreads, the library, or another blogger's reviews, what grabs your attention to make you want to read it?


*SIGH*  I hate to admit this, but I am a Cover Lover. When I am  at the bookstore or the library or what have you, browsing for  books, the FIRST thing I always take into consideration is the cover (I obviously missed the lesson on not judging a book by its cover). Then I read the synopsis. It has to have a little romance in it. It doesn't have to be the main focus of the story, but still... it has to have something. Here are some examples of books I've read with awesome covers and a little bit (or a lot a bit) of romance.

 Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson



 Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder
         Entwined by Heather Dixon








So what about you? I would love to hear what catches your eye and why. Happy Friday everyone!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Review: (ARC) Illuminate by Aimee Agresti

My Rating: 5 Stars
Date Read: January, 2012
Challenge: 2012 Debut Author Challenge

Published March 6, 2012 by Harcourt Children's Books
Hardback, 544 pages


Summary from GoodReads:
Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit. As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?
Illuminate is an exciting saga of a teen’s first taste of independence, her experience in the lap of luxury, and her discovery she may possess strength greater than she ever knew.


My Review:
I am so sad that it took me so long to read this book!! But all of a sudden, school and work decided to keep me extra super busy, and reading had to take a backseat :( but now things have started to slow down again, and I can sort of catch up with everything.

I was so lucky to be able to win this awesome book in a giveaway on Aimee Agresti's website. And it came with this really pretty angel wing necklace.. Alright, now on to the actual review ;)

Illuminate was my very first 2012 debut (WOO!) and honestly, it set the bar pretty high. It was one of those enchanting books that kept you wondering what was going to happen until the very end. (And then some)

Haven was a good main character, because she came across as a real person. She has so many insecurities at the beginning of the book, but the farther along the story gets the more she embraces those insecurities and she becomes a strong, confident person.

And, okay, we can't forget about the swoon worthy boys *Wink-wink* Let's start with Lance. He's that super sweet boy next door type, and I couldn't help but falling in love with him, just a little. *SIGH*

And Lucian. Ah, he's the overly complicated one. I had mixed feelings about him through the whole book, and even now, after I've finished with it, I STILL can't decide how I feel about him. I really hope that we will see more of him in the books to come.

Okay, to sum it all up, and not get too into spoilers, I think it's safe to say that I really liked this book. Once it hits shelves you absolutely HAVE to rush to the store and get it. Seriously.

I can't wait to see what kind of adventures that Haven and the gang get into the next time around.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Review: First Date by Krista McGee





My Rating: 5 Stars

Date Read: January 2012



Publication Date: January 10, 2012 by Thomas Nelson
Paperback, 336 pages




Summary from Goodreads:
The orphaned daughter of missionaries, Addy is quite content to stay in the shadows and never draw attention to herself. But when she's selected for a reality TV show to try to become the President son's prom date-a show she didn't audition for-she's suddenly in America's spotlight.


The lights, the make-up, the competitions, and the blogs discussing every move she makes all make Addy incredibly uncomfortable. But through her time at The Mansion, Addy comes to realize that first impressions aren't always right, that hiding out may not be what God had planned for her life, and that her faith should affect everything she does. It may just be that her selection wasn't random at all and that she's on this show "for such a time as this."


My Review:

Okay this book was too dang cute! And it didn't take me very long to read once I started it. And I love the cover, too!!


Addy does NOT want to be on The Book Of Love. Especially since she will be competing against 100 other girls for ONE date with Jonathon (AKA the President's son) She even tells him and all the viewers, that she doesn't want to be there (in one of those stress induced wacky moments) though later on in the story she regrets what she said. She goes because she knows that God wants her there for a reason. She only wishes she knew what that reason was.

I kind of loved the premise of the book. I mean, I was never a fan of The Bachelor, I always rolled my eyes at it, but this book caught my attention. It had all of the Drama, but none of the inappropriateness that some dating reality shows have.

I admired Addy for the same reason that everyone watching the show did. She didn't change to try and impress anybody. She might have thought about it a few times, but she always stayed true to herself. She didn't have to be fake to make everybody love her.

Jonathon was funny and sweet, and I wish that I could have learned more about his character.

This was a great story, it's something that readers of all ages will enjoy. It is one that I can picture as a Disney Channel or Hallmark movie. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more books by Krista McGee :D



**I received this book for free from BookSneeze, in exchange for an honest review**

Saturday, January 7, 2012

We Have A New Winner!

Okay, I never heard anything back from the winner of the Happy New Year 2012 blog hop, so now we have a new Winner. Congratulations to....

BROOKE!!

I've sent an e-mail, and you will have 72 hours to respond

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

2012 New Year's Eve Giveaway Hop Winner

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU! to everyone who entered. I'm hoping to be able to participate in another Blog Hop really soon. Okay, and the winner iiiiiiis.............

Bookaholic Anonymous!!

Congratulations!! an email has been sent, and you have 72 hours to respond. Make sure to check your Spam box.



Thanks for Hopping, and happy reading!