So my 200 Follower Giveaway has come to an end and I would like to thank all of you who entered.
I had 71 entries in total, so thanks everyone. Extra entries were allocated an extra number on the end so it totals to 76 entries.

So now is the time to announce the winner.

The winner was picked using Random.Org number generator.

The lucky number picked was:

 

 This means the Winner is  

Amber from 'Books of Amber'

Amber has been emailed and has 3 days to respond. Big Congrats and Thanks go to Amber. 

She has won these :

 

 and a paperback copy of 'Ultraviolet' by R.J Anderson

For those of you who didn't win or missed it entirely don't worry there will be more Giveaways soon so check back for more chances to win.

Thanks to everyone who entered.

 

Happy Blogging. :D

Book Review - Forgotten

Title: Forgotten
Author: Cat Patrick
Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd
Release Date: 6 Jun 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1405253611

Synopsis
Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future. 




My Review
I saw this in the book shop and was drawn in by the cover, which I love by the way. So mysterious. The blurb was just as intriguing and I decided I had to have it.
London Lane is different, every night at 4.33 her memory resets, she doesn't remember any of her past, but in exchange she can see flashes of the future, not just her future, but that of her friends too. Trying to live a normal life London hasn't told anyone other than her mum and best friend of her secret. She gets through life by making notes of important events and information that she can read each morning to replace the memories. Until Luke Henry shows up at school, London can't see him in her past and he doesn't seem to show in her future either, but somehow she is drawn to him. When she starts getting strange flashbacks or flashforwards, London must try to piece against her past before her future collapses.
I will put one pet peeve here, this is just personal preference, but I really don't like the name London, a lot of books recently have used it and I just don't get the appeal, so it took me a while to relate to the character, but once I managed to put my dislike of the name to the side, I actually got into the story.
At points I found the story slightly unbelievable, surely someone would notice that you never remembered anything and no matter how many notes you make, you must miss some things. I couldn't get how no one had picked up on her strange behaviour. 
At first I was confused as to how she would know who her friend was, or her mum if she couldn't remember the past, but then it explained that because they were in her future *memories* then she knew who they were and I quite liked that idea.
London handles her situation very well and takes it in her stride no matter how many obstacles are thrown at her.
Luke is dream date worthy, totally sweet and thoughtful, good looking and respectful, the perfect guy! I had my fingers crossed he would show in her future throughout the book.
Jamie, London's best friend (who is a girl by the way) I found to be a bit whiny and in truth a bit of a b***ch throughout, she refused to take London's advice and I kind of wanted to slap her and tell her to get over herself, but this all added to the progression of the story and London's development too.
Overall the book was very well written and was a gave a great new spin to the amnesia story. I don't think I could cope with London's situation but I really enjoyed the book.
I read this in one day and especially towards the end I found that I could not pull away from it, I had to know how it will turn out.
I will definitely look for more by this author, she has great way for story-telling.


My Rating
I would give this book 9/10, a great intriguing read, full of mystery and great characters. Would definitely recommend. 

Book Review - Legacy

Title: Legacy
Author: Cayla Kluver
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 28 Jun 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0373210343

Synopsis
A CROWN PRINCESS
A SCANDALOUS SECRET CRUSH
A KINGDOM ON THE BRINK OF DISASTER
In her seventeenth year, Princess Alera of Hytanica faces one duty: to marry the man who will be king. But her father’s choice of suitor fills her with despair.
When the palace guard captures an intruder—a boy her age with steel-blue eyes, hailing from her kingdom’s greatest enemy—Alera is alarmed…and intrigued. But she could not have guessed that their clandestine meetings would unveil the dark legacy shadowing both their lands.
In this mystical world of court conspiracies and blood magic, loyalties will be tested. Courage won’t be enough. And as the battle begins for everything Alera holds dear, love may be the downfall of a kingdom.

 My Review
I read the synopsis on NetGalley and was intrigued, I requested a copy and was happy when I was approved.
This book isn't anything like I thought it would be and isn't my normal sort of read, but I actually found myself really enjoying it.
Two Kingdoms side by side are at dispute and have been for years. Princess Alera is now seventeen and must choose a suitor to marry who can become King, her father has chosen Steldor a young man who in her fathers eyes would make a great King, but in Alera's eyes he is an arrogant a**e! When a blue-eyed boy is captured in the city and brought to the palace, Alera instantly feels a conncetion to him, but as he comes from Cokyri, the warring Kingdom, he cannot be trusted. 
On the brink of war, Alera doesn't have time to decide what she wants to do. She must decide who is right for the Kingdom, who is on her side and who is in danger.
The book is fast paced and excited, everytime I thought I had figured out who the betrayer was or who she would pick to marry something would change and I would have to re-think it. 
The writing is good and flows well and the characters really come to life, I found myself wanting to slap Steldor as much as Alera did, and i loved the way she wanted to change peoples ideas about what women should be able to do. She stuck up for herself.
This book feels sort of magical without any real magic in it, just something about it takes you away to another world.

My Rating
I would give this book 9/10, thoroughly enjoyable and well written, but the story doesn't actually come to a conclusion as it is set to be a trilogy. Will have to wait for the next one. 

Teaser Tuesday: Forgotten

TEAser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles!

My Teasers: Forgotten by Cat Patrick

"I set aside the note and read through similar messages from the past week, paying particular attention to Friday's comments on clothes and school stuff. Then, still feeling like I'm waking into the world partially blind, I haul myself from bed and start the day."

Page 19

My argument is going nowhere, so I bring out the big guns. 

"Do I have to tell you how this will end?"

Page 54


What are your teasers?

Don't forget to enter my 200 Follower Giveaway- ends tomorrow (Weds 29th) International.

10 Good Things on a Monday (19)

Ten Good Things on a Monday is a fancy meme hosted by Nice Nina @ Brush Up on Your Reading!

Here's how it works:

1. Think of a particular group of good things you want to make a list on, does not necessarily have to be about books, e.g. your current book wish list, or your favorite book foods (you know, foods you love to eat while reading, if you're like me), or your favorite girly names, whatever you can think of, as long as it makes you feel good.
2. If you have no ideas for a list, you can always visit my blog post to check out my theme for that week and you can take a cue from my list.
3. Post your list on your blog, grab that cute ARGH button above and put it on your post too, so we'd know you're doing this meme.
4. Leave the link for your post on my own 10 Good Things post for the week, if you see others doing it, comment too and let's share our good things with everybody.
5. Everybody goes through the whole week happy!

This week I will do 10 of my favourite adult TV shows:

1) Gilmore Girls - I got totally addicted to this show. I loved the quick wit and one liners. The characters really grow throughout the series and i felt like I was part of their little towns family.

2) Glee - I am a TOTAL GLEEK - nothing beats a good night in jamming to some Glee.

3) Frasier - I got into this by accident when I was channel hopping, but I found myself laughing out loud and then found the DVD's and I was  hooked

4) Friends - I grew up with friends (my teenage years) and I always loved the group dynamics. Phoebe was always my favourite character, she was so weird and reminded me of me! (I also had a crush on Joey, OMG did I just admit that :O *blush*)

5) Allo Allo - old war comedy that had me laughing so much with it's double meanings and silly jokes.

6) One Foot In The Grave - grumpy old man with a great catchphrase (I Don't Believe It) the episodes were so strange and sometimes unbelievable but you can't help but laugh.


7) Ugly Betty - I always felt for Betty and hoped she would do well. Plus loved the drama!


8) Make It Or Break It - I used to do Gymnastics and I always regret having given it up. I still love to watch it though and got instantly hooked into this series. It's not all about the Gymnastics, but also has drama, love stories, friendship etc. I love it and hope they commission a third series.


9) Fawlty Towers - Basil Fawlty and his wife never quite agreeing and Manuel the Spanish Waiter. recipe for laughter.


10) Merlin - enter the magical world, I loved the legend of Arthur being retold. 


All the titles will take you to Amazon if you want to know more about them.
There were so many more I could put in, but these sprung to mind first. May do a children's one next week :D

Have a great week everyone. :D 
 

Quote Love (14)

Quote Love is a new meme hosted by 'Midnight Twilight'. It's kind of like Teaser Tuesday from Should Be Reading, but with this one you can choose any quote from any book, not just the one you're currently reading. The quote can be thought provoking, or funny, or just really powerful, it's all up to you which kind of quote you choose.


Here is what you have to do to participate:
1) Choose one of your favorite quotes.
2) Post the quote, and write what you like about it.
3) Make sure to put the title and author so if someone else likes the quote they can check out the book.
4) Post your link on Midnight Twilight's Post.

So here is my quote for the week:

"As the hours crept by, the afternoon sunlight bleached all the books on the shelves to pale, gilded versions of themselves and warmed the paper and ink inside the covers so that the smell of unread words hung in the air."
- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Page 8

I love this quote, it creates a great imagery and makes me want to breath in and experience the smell of the books. To me it's the smell of home. :D

Enjoy your weekend!

Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop Winner Announced!

So the Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop has come to an end and I would like to thank all of you who entered.
I had 147 entries in total, so just WOW, thanks everyone.

So now is the time to announce the winner.

The winner was picked using Random.Org number generator.

The lucky number picked was:

 

This means the Winner is  

Steph from 'Steph Likes Books'

Steph has been emailed and has 3 days to respond. Big Congrats and Thanks go to Steph. 

She has won these :

 

 

For those of you who didn't win or missed it entirely don't worry there is still my 200 Follower Giveaway going on, so check that out for another chance to win.

Thanks to everyone who entered.

 

Happy Blogging. :D

 

Book Review - Beast Call & Author Interview

Title: The Beast Call
Author: Anne Tibbets
Series: The Beast Girl (book 1)
Publisher: Premier Digital Publishing LLC
Release Date: 4 May 2011
ASIN: B004ZGOMQ8

Synopsis
"The Beast Call" is about seventeen year old Dray, who is no ordinary human. But possessing the magical capability of communicating with animals in a land where magic is feared, is dangerous. When Dray's adventure hungry brother leaves the family farm to join a rebel militia, Dray follows him, but as Dray discovers her natural warrior capabilities, and word of her magical talents are discovered by the rebel General, Dray becomes an intricate part of the revolution, and the evil King Nuro would like nothing more than to see her destroyed.


My Review
I was contacted by the author and sent a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.
Can I just say - beautiful cover! 
The Beast Call is set around Dray and Lurin, brother and sister, ordinary people who live in a small community on a farm. Lurin wants more from life than to grow up running the farm and having children, he wants adventure. Dray is more sensible, but has a secret, she can communicate with animals, She has kept her ability hidden from everyone but her brother, as magic is feared in her land.
When Dray is forced into an arranged marriage she decides to leave, and joins Lurin as he goes to join the Militia. The pair start of as servants to the army, but soon Dray's skill and natural talent begins to shine, and her magical gift can be used for the good of the army.
When evil King Nuro discovers this rising talent, he sets out to get rid of her, it's a race against time to see who will win and Dray must use every resource she can if she is going to help them win the battle and stay alive.
This is actually more of a novella, at 72 pages it is short but action packed, there is a lot covered, but not so much that it over powers you.
Dray is a great character, not too confident in her abilities but willing to stand up for what she believes in. I love her connection to the animals and her gentleness with them, but she can be feisty too, and I like that she doesn't just let the men take control, she is willing to fight too.
Lurin started off as being a nice character, a great big brother sort of role model, he seemed to want to look out for his sister, but when she surpassed him with skill in fighting, he turned very sour and jealous. I was so disappointed in him for the way he behaved, but he was very well written, you sort of felt sorry for him whilst wanting to slap him and tell him to stop being such an arrogant pig and to congratulate his sister - I know my brother would. 
The mix of characters in general was great - the leader of the rebel war movement, Dray's skin crawling parents, the lovely Blue ice fairy, the centaurs, it really was a great mix.
It was short but very well thought out and planned and really action packed. I read it in one sitting and really enjoyed it. 
The ending I sort of saw coming, but was happy with where it left, but do want to know what happens next.


My Rating
I would give this book 8/10, a nice quick read full of excitement, action, magic and mayhem. 

Now i hope I've captured you're interest, I have an interview with the author Anne Tibbets, so please give her a warm welcome: 

1) For those reading this that don't know who you are can you give us a quick introduction?

I started my career as a freelance children's television screenwriter for such shows as "The Zach Files" for ABC Family, and "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High" for NBC/Discovery Kids.  I got into writing books after a friend asked if I wanted to write a book together, from that "The Amulet Chronicles, Book One: The Journey Home," a middle grade time travel adventure, came to be.  But what I really wanted to do was write Young Adult Fantasy, so I wrote "The Beast Call," and the rest is history.

2) What was your childhood ambition?

I loved writing as a kid, and used to write stories and pass them around to my friends, but sometime in Junior High I took a Theatre class and caught the acting bug.  I spent High School and part of college trying to be an actress.  Man, did I stink.  During that time, I continued to write short stories for fun, and even won a few writing contests, but it didn't occur to me until half way through college that I should be a writer.  So, I switched my major from acting to play writing and I don't regret it for a moment.

3) What three words would best describe you?

Open.  Honest.  Analytical.

4) When did you realise you wanted to be a writer?  What was the first thing you wrote and how old were you?

It was my 2nd year of college when I realized I wanted to be a writer.  I was complaining to my boyfriend, now my husband, about how I wasn't sure acting was the right choice for me, and we sat and talked about what I really loved. He helped me realize it was the words that spoke to me.  Best choice I ever made.

The first thing I wrote, that's worth mentioning, was a novel when I was thirteen years old.  It was about two fairies on a quest to find a magic crystal.  I still have it.  It was typed on an electric typewriter and full of adventure and drama.  I like to dig it out of my closet and read it now and again. It's not half bad!

5) What was your favourite book(s) as a child? What is it now?

My favorite book as a child was "Dicey's Song" by Cynthia Voight.  I read it in the 4th grade and it completely changed my perception of what a children's book could be.  It still holds up today.  My favorite book now is Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief," which is a masterpiece.

6) Where do you do most of your writing?

I have an office in my house, but it's funny, I do most of my writing on an old Mac laptop at my dining room table.  There's a large window that shows the front of my house and when I need to think, I stare out into the street.  I don't know why, but it's working for me, so I just go with it.

7) Where did the idea for 'Beast Call' come from?

"The Beast Call" was inspired by the many hours I wasted playing World of Warcraft.  I don't play anymore, as time doesn't allow, but when I did, I played a Night Elf druid.  I really enjoyed the animal aspect of that class.  But, I didn't want to copy it exactly, so instead of having a character change into animals, as the druids do in WoW, I had her communicate with animals telepathically.  To make things more complicated, I created the world of Madis where magic is feared, just to give my heroine an added obstacle.

8) Did you base any of your characters on real people?

Not in this book.  I have an unpublished Young Adult contemporary loosely based on my childhood, but I'm still not sure if that book will ever be published.  The liberating part of "The Beast Call" was being able to create characters completely from scratch.

9) Your characters have quite unusual names? Where did you get the names from? How did you pick them?

I played with names and sounds, and tried various combinations. The General had three different names before I came up with Bref'zeene. I tried to have each character start with a different letter, to help the reader keep track.  Weird names can be confusing, especially when there are so many characters to keep track of.

10) Beast Call contains quite a lot of knowledge about Sword Fighting, Plants -especially for healing and War strategy? Where did you learn all this from, did you have to do a lot of research?

There was a time when I worked in television as a Writer's Assistant on a few shows called, "Action Hours."  Each of these episodes had a Stunt Coordinator, who choreographed the fight scenes.  I learned a lot by watching them.  Plus, there are a great many wonderful movies and television shows that feature sword fighting, so I watched quite a few of those and tried to write about it in a way that allowed to reader to visualize the action.  As for the battle plans, I would draw maps of the locations and move chess pieces around it to visualize how the battle would play out. For the plants, the names are made up, so all I had to do there was use my imagination.

11) Dray is lucky and can talk to all animals, but if you could talk to only one breed of animal, which would you pick and why?

If I had to pick only one animal for Dray to communicate with, I think I would pick a large cat, of some kind.  Like a leopard or a mountain lion.  I'm working on that aspect for the sequel, funny enough.

12) Are there any plans for more adventures from Dray and the team? Any sequels in the works?

"The Beast Call" will have a sequel.  I'm about half way through the first draft of "The Beast Reign" where the team is once again forced into battle.  I hope to have it finished by the end of 2011.

13) Do you have any advice for new authors?

My advice for new writers would be to practice, practice, practice.  Write as much and as often as possible, and then once you are done writing it, rewrite it again a minimum of three times.  Also, read often, and join writer associations, like the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The SCBWI holds seminars and conferences that help writers learn about the publishing business, because as much as the creative writing counts, if you don't know how the business part of the industry works, you will probably not get published.

14)  Is there anything else you want to tell us, either about yourself or your books?

I'm a pretty simple person.  I love ice cream, super heroes and people.  I find people fascinating.  I could spend hours picking a situation apart, and analyzing why people behave the way they do.  I'm sure my friends find it annoying at times. But without people, this world would be awfully dull.

 Thanks Anne, great answers there, I wish you ever success with your writing!
"The Beast Call" is on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords and iBooks. so go grab yourself a copy. :D

Book Blogger Hop: June 24th - 27th & FF (23) & TGIF (6)

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy-for-Books and is an awesome way to for book bloggers to interact and find each other. Such a wonderful idea! There's a new question every week that all the participating blogs have to answer.

This week's question is:

“When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?”

My Answer: well I went through two different phases, When I was little I loved books, my mum read to me every night and used all different voices etc, and I started reading myself, went up through different levels. Went through Roald Dahl and Jacqueline Wilson, then I started the Animal Ark books by Lucy Daniels and I became addicted to them, it was all I would read, I was determined to read the entire series. I was well on my way with this until the school librarian told me she wasn't going to let me borrow them anymore as I needed to 'broaden my horizons' and 'try something new'. Well, after that I sort of stopped reading for quite a long time, I figured if I couldn't read what I wanted, then their wasn't really much point. I was about 10 at the time.
Then when the first Harry Potter movie came out I got dragged along to see it with my parents, I ended up loving it and wanted to read all the books. (there was about four of them out then I think), so my mum lent me her copies and I read through them quite quickly. My love of books was rekindled and it went from there really, since then I have been plowing through books and grabbing as many as possible.
Sorry, I went on a bit there! But Thank You J.K Rowling, I was one of the many children you encouraged to read! :D

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is an opportunity to discover and follow other book related blogs! Want to join? Check it out at Parajunkee.

This week's question comes from Mickey @ I'm a Book Shark

Q. In light of the Summer Solstice. Also known as Midsummer...let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?

My Answer: I have so many books based around Faeries that I love, but my top two are the 'Wings' series by Aprilynne Pike and the '13 Treasures' series by Michelle Harrison. Such amazing series, really different from each other but both magical.

TGIF!

This is a new meme hosted by GReads!

This Friday's Question:

Summer Love: Where is your ideal place to take a 

summer vacation & get lost in a book?

Well, technically I've never had a Summer vacation - that is to say I've never been away during summer, just had days off school or work. I would love to go to America, Hawaii, Australia, France, Italy, anywhere really, but if I can't go anywhere then staying home is fine because I can get lost in a book, the books will take me away and lets face it, it's cheaper, easier and takes you to any number of places, some you could only imagine! So this summer I will be curled up on my sofa with a stack of books next to me and I will journey far and wide. :D

Don't forget to sign up for my 200 follower Giveaway, and it's the last day of the Midsummer Hop, just click on the pictures at the top of the side bar on the right to enter. :D

 

 Happy Hopping, have a great weekend everyone!!!

 

Book Review - Immortal War

Title: Immortal War
Author: Justin Somper
Series: Vampirates (book 6)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's
Release Date: 9 Jun 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1416916543

Synopsis
A bloody war is raging across the oceans, with the Pirate Federation and Nocturnals in alliance against the renegade Vampirates, led by Sidorio and Lola. Lola might be heavily pregnant with twins, but it doesn't stop her from remaining an active in battle! Connor and Grace Tempest each have important roles to play - he as a pirate warrior at the heart of the fight; she as a powerful healer working with the war-wounded. As the twins face their greatest challenges to date, old allies and foes return to play their part in the ultimate battle of Pirate versus Vampirate.

My Review
I was obsessed with this series last year and couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, luckily my best friend bought a copy and let me borrow it. (Thank you Kirsty! You're the best).
As It was a while ago that I read the rest of the books, at first I struggled to remember who all the characters were and what was going on, but there are hints and clues dropped throughout as to each persons past that it all soon came back to me.
This one pretty much takes off where the last one left, except it starts with a sort of prologue that goes back hundred's of years and explains a few things, fills in some gaps and questions. 
Grace is working as a healer in the Sanctuary and Connor is out on the seas with his friends/crew-mates. But the twins have an important destiny and when a prophecy is uncovered everything in their futures is about to change.
Sidorio and Lola are happily married and Lola is expecting twins - babies that will carry on their dark legacy and become the next evil vampirates in the world, but still making time to purge the waters and build said legacy.
All other favourites are there Lorcan, Cheng Li, Bo Yin, Jasmine, Moshu, Johnny, Stukely and the mass cast. It isn't confusing though, each character has it's purpose and helps move the story on. I loved that Johnny had a more prominent part.
Connor battles internal demons and worries as well as fighting the impending war that is breaking out over the ocean. It was great to see more of him and his character develop in a strong way. Grace also grows so much as a characters and is definitely one of my favourites, her along with Lorcan make a great team. 
This book is much more action packed and fast-paced, with war breaking out all over the oceans and twists and turns everywhere, it will have you glued to the page, although I did figure out parts of the ending quite early on.
This is supposed to be the last in the series and does tie up about 90% of the storylines and questions, but it also opens the door to others, things that I was left thinking "but i want to know what happens to x, y & z." I hope Justin Somper comes back to the series one day because I really will miss this series.

My Rating
I would give this book 9.5/10, a great new installment to an exciting series. my buckle has surely been swashed! Still left me wanting more. 

Teaser Tuesday: Immortal War

TEAser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles!

My Teasers:Immortal War (Vampirates 6) by Justin Somper

Connor looked awkward as he stepped into the room, hovering before the others as if recognising that he was the last and least welcome guest.

Page 5

"Actions speak louder than words," Lola announced decisively. She reached out and took back the ring of keys. They glimmered in the moonlight as she extended them towards the girl by her side."

Page 19

What are your teasers?

10 Good Things on a Monday (18)

Ten Good Things on a Monday is a fancy meme hosted by Nice Nina @ Brush Up on Your Reading!

Here's how it works:

1. Think of a particular group of good things you want to make a list on, does not necessarily have to be about books, e.g. your current book wish list, or your favorite book foods (you know, foods you love to eat while reading, if you're like me), or your favorite girly names, whatever you can think of, as long as it makes you feel good.
2. If you have no ideas for a list, you can always visit my blog post to check out my theme for that week and you can take a cue from my list.
3. Post your list on your blog, grab that cute ARGH button above and put it on your post too, so we'd know you're doing this meme.
4. Leave the link for your post on my own 10 Good Things post for the week, if you see others doing it, comment too and let's share our good things with everybody.
5. Everybody goes through the whole week happy!

This week I will do my top 10 favourite t-shirts


1) Don't Judge A Book By It's Movie - made me laugh and it's so true. I just bought this in white. :D

 2) Real Men Don't Sparkle - I laughed so hard at this, I don't like Twilight's sparkly vampires and just love this t-shirt. I have it in blue with white writing.

3) Come To The Dark Side, We Have Cookies! - so cute, made by David & Goliath.

4) Impossible Love - thought this one was sweet, one of my ultimate favourites

5) You Rock, You Rule - clever play on words and pictures, this was my first D&G t-shirt and I love it. 

 6) Ninja's Need Love Too - I have this in white and the edge of the words glow in the dark, so cute.

7) I See Stupid People - makes me LOL every time. I have it in bright blue.

8) Peace, Love & Stupidity - the rules of my life. hehe

9) Ninja Kitty - I love Cats and Ninja's so this is perfect.

10) I Know Kung-Fu & 15 other Chinese Words - I love pandas and this made me laugh.

I own all of these t-shirts and are prominent in my cupboards. Hope you like them. :D


Have a great week everyone. :D 

Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop

This Giveaway hop is being hosted by 'I Am A Reader, Not A Writer'. This is an awesome blog, stop by and check it out.

Now, to the hop:

This Giveaway hop runs from June 21st - 24th

What is a giveaway hop?
Simple - Each participating blog hosts a giveaway and then we link up together allowing our followers to hop easily from one giveaway to another.
For followers this means lots of chances to win free books.
For blogs hosting a giveaway it means lots of new visitors.
It's a win-win!
There i currently 276 blogs signed up so that's a lot of prizes to win. :D

So here's my Giveaway -

Up for grabs are some fantastic books and goodies, check it out: 

To me, Summer is magical, full of wonder and fun, so I am Giving away 3 fairy books-
- 1 paperback copy of 'Radiant Shadows' by Melissa Marr (Book 4 in the Wicked Lovely series)
- 1 paperback copy of 'Wings: A Fairy Tale' by E.D. Baker
- 1 proof copy of 'The Thirteen Treasures' by Michelle Harrison
- 1 promotional postcard of 'Dead Beautiful' by Yvonne Woon
- 1 Simon Pulse badge

So how to enter?

To enter put your details in the Linky List below, that's it, simple as that.

Here are the rules: 

1) Competition opens Tuesday 21st June
2) Competition closes on Friday 24th June Midnight GMT
3) Enter your Name, E-mail and Blog Link in the Linky List Below (email will be hidden)
4) You Must be a Follower to enter!
5) One Name will be selected at random from the list.
6) Contest open INTERNATIONALLY!!! :D
7) Winners will be contacted by e-mail
8) Winners will have 3 days to reply or another winner will be selected.

Spread the word and have fun.  (Don't forget I am also running a Giveaway to celebrate 200 followers on my blog, so that's another chance to win, click here to enter that Giveaway.)


The  Hop list of all the other blogs taking part is below my entry link list. :D

Good luck to everyone.

Book Review - Tenth Grade Bleeds

Title: Tenth Grade Bleeds
Author: Heather Brewer
Series: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: 7 April 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0141334080

Synopsis
The evil vampire D'Ablo is hunting for the ritual that could steal Vlad's powers. His best friend doesn't want to be his drudge anymoreand it’s getting harder for Vlad to resist feeding on those around him. But when D'Ablo shows up demanding his father's journal, Vlad realizes that having a normal high school year is the least of his concerns.

Vlad needs to act fast, and even his status as the Pravus won't save him this time . . .

My Review
I was a little bit disappointed with book 2, so wasn't really sure what to expect with this one, but I wanted to know what happened to Vlad so when the book arrived shiny and new in the library I grabbed it. 
Maybe it's because I had lower expectations of this one, but I actually really enjoyed it, I was pleasantly surprised.
Vlad is dating the cutest girl in school, his uncle is living with him, he has his best mate by his side, things seem to be going well, but life is never that easy for a teenage vampire. The school nerd Eddie is becoming obsessed with Vlad and his 'secret', determined to expose him as a Vampire Eddie spends most of his life stalking Vlad, and if that wasn't bad enough, uncle Otis has to leave to go on a mission. Vlad's hunger is increasing and getting harder to hide and Oh yeah and the really bad thing - the vampire council is still out to get him, especially D'Ablo. Vlad wishes he could just be normal for once, then when Henry starts turning against him it gets more complicated. 
I found this book moved at a good pace and I was hooked throughout. Vlad is growing as a character and I feel like I know him, his powers are growing and he is coming to terms with who and what he is. 
D'Ablo is the perfect crazed bad guy, the sort of guy you really want to slap and say 'get over yourself' but you know you never could - he'd eat you for breakfast.
I love Henry and really see him becoming his own person and I can understand where he is coming from.
You learn more about Vlad's past - well his parents past and some of the vampire history which is really interesting and fits in well. 
The thing I like most about Vlad is that he has all this stuff going on around him, and his life is almost constantly threatened but he never gives up. He shows his emotions, which allow us to connect to him, but then he gets up and gets on with it.
His sarcastic humour is great and only matched by his guardian Nelly, her sense of humour is great and often had me laughing. 
Overall I actually really enjoyed this book and was glad I carried on with the series and am looking forward to the next one. 


My Rating
 I would give this book 8/10, action packed, and exciting, an enjoyable read that you can sink your teeth into (couldn't resist, sorry hehe) 

Quote Love (13)

Quote Love is a new meme hosted by 'Midnight Twilight'. It's kind of like Teaser Tuesday from Should Be Reading, but with this one you can choose any quote from any book, not just the one you're currently reading. The quote can be thought provoking, or funny, or just really powerful, it's all up to you which kind of quote you choose.


Here is what you have to do to participate:
1) Choose one of your favorite quotes.
2) Post the quote, and write what you like about it.
3) Make sure to put the title and author so if someone else likes the quote they can check out the book.
4) Post your link on Midnight Twilight's Post.

So here is my quote for the week:

"With great power... comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later."
— Rick Riordan (The Last Olympian) 

This just made me laugh! Love it. :D

Enjoy your weekend!