Summer Giveaway Hop

This Giveaway hop is being hosted by 'I Am A Reader, Not A Writer' and Co-Hosted by Mary from BookHounds & Forever Young (adult). These are awesome blogs, stop by and check them out.

Now, to the hop:

This Giveaway hop runs from August 1st - 7th

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 300 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, these are some of my favourites!

These are part of the fantastic Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine.
the Giveaway includes:
-Book 6 - Carpe Corpus
-Book 7 - Fade Out
-Book 8 - Kiss of Death
-Book 9 - Ghost Town
all are paperbacks and all are brand new never been read. It really is a great series, I love them and hope you will too.

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 Monday 1st August
2) Competition closes on Sunday 7th August Midnight GMT
3) Enter your Name, E-mail and Blog Link in the Linky List Below (email will be hidden)
-If you do not have a blog, link to your twitter or Facebook account instead.
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. :)

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

Good luck to everyone.

Book Review - A Simple's Life

Title: A Simple's Life
Author: Aleksandr Orlov
Publisher: Ebury Press
Release Date: 28 Oct 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0091940508

Synopsis
Aleksandr Orlov has in the last year become one of the most loved figures in British culture and his catchphrase - Simples! - can be heard from the playground to the office. This autobiography offers the same humour as his TV ads, giving us the full story of his ancestor's Journey of Courageousness from the Kalahari to Russia.






My Review
I love the TV adverts, Aleksandr is so cute and he always makes me smile, so I asked for this book for Christmas. I know, I know that was 8 months ago, but I've been distracted. My mum was moaning that she bought it for me and I haven't read it so I decided to do it. It literally took me about half an hour to read, it's full of pictures and random facts or statements. 
It explains the history of Aleksandrs ancestors, right down to his current TV success. IT starts back in the Kalahari Desert, where the Meerkats lived happily, until the land dried out and they ran out of food, they then has to journey across seas to new lands, but got lost and ended up in Russia. It then goes through the generations to where his father opened the first Compare the Meerkat shop. 
The book is written just like Aleksandr talks so you have to imagine his cute accent whilst reading. it's very interesting and funny.
I think it is meant to be a bit of a laugh and silly fun, and it really comes together as a delightful little book.

If your a fan then this book is a must. 

Book Review - Assassin

Title: Assassin
Author: Grace Cavendish
Series: The Lady Grace Mysteries (book 1)
Publisher: Red Fox
Release Date: 2 Aug 2007
ISBN-13: 978-1862303768

Synopsis
Since the death of her beloved mother, Lady Grace has become the Queen's favourite Maid of Honour. But even favourites have to obey the Queen's wishes - and the Queen wants Grace to be married. Choosing between her suitors – kindly old Sir Charles, flashy Sir Gerald and sweet, anxious Lord Robert – is easy for Grace: she doesn't want to marry any of them! When Gerald is found dead after the ball at which Grace should have picked her favourite suitor, suspicion falls on Lord Robert. But Grace has noticed that Sir Charles has been acting strangely – and that there is something odd about the body. With her friends Ellie the maid and Masou the acrobat, Lady Grace sets out to discover what really went on that night.

My Review
I like a good mystery and children's books seem to have some of the best mysteries. I've had this one in my locker at work for ages but kept forgetting about it. I needed a book I could read quickly today so I pulled it out. It literally took me about an hour to read.
Grace is the chief maid for the Queen. She lives a life of luxury and although she is grateful for her position in life, she also wants a bit of fun and excitement. She has two friends Ellie and Masou - lower class workers but great fun who she sneaks off to see. 
After a Valentine's ball, Grace is supposed to choose a suitor to marry, but that night one of them is found dead and one of the others looks to be guilty. Grace must solve the mystery before an innocent man is hanged for the crime.
I'd say this was aimed at 8-9 year olds, the font is quite big and well spaced and the storyline is fairly simple. It is set in 1569 and really gives you a feel of being in that time and age. Grace is a great character, feisty, lively and a bit of a handful. She gets excited and you can feel her enthusiasm burst off the page. The Queen was great and made me laugh in a few places, and the mystery kept me hooked, I certainly didn't expect the twist towards the end.
I really enjoyed reading it and would definitely read more in the series. It goes alphabetically through the series by Title.

My Rating
I would give this book 8/10, imaginative, fun and gripping, a nice easy read for a lazy day that children and adults will love. 

Quote Love (19)

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:

 "All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust."
— J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

I love this quote, it reminds me of my childhood innocence. Also I love the song from Peter Pan 2 - it's called 'I'll Try' by Jonatha Brooke click here to listen. It's beautiful. I'm just in a whimsical mood I suppose. :D

Enjoy your weekend!

Book Review - The Iron Witch

Title: The Iron Witch
Author: Karen Mahoney
Series: The Iron Witch Trilogy (book 1)
Publisher: Corgi Childrens
Release Date: 20 Jan 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0552563819

Synopsis
Freak.

That's what they call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood at Ironbridge High School. A horrific fey attack that killed her father when she was just a child left Donna branded with iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms - and magically enhanced strength, that she now does all she can to hide.

Now, after ten years of wishing for a normal life, Donna finally accepts her role in the centuries-old war against the darkest outcasts of Faerie - the dark elves. Aided by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout, Donna must save her best friend's life - and that means betraying one of the world's greatest secrets and confronting the very thing that destroyed her family.

My Review
I had seen quite a few posts about this one and thought the cover looked very eye catching and different so I decided to give this one a go. I actually lent it to a friend before I got round to reading it, but she returned it quickly and said she couldn't get into it. I lowered my expectations but thought I would still give it a go.
I read this very quickly, in a couple of hours, but it was mainly because i wanted to get through it. The story starts off quite well paced and draws your attention in. the world is created well and there is an air of mystery.
Donna is branded a freak by her peers, forced to wear gloves that cover her arms up to her elbows, the other kids think she is weird, but she needs to hide the strange markings on her arms - after an attack in the woods when she was seven which resulted in her father's death and her mother losing the plot, Donna got seriously injured and so Iron tattoos were crafted in her skin to heal her, these resulted in super strength and other powers, but also strengthened her connection to the fey world. Surrounded by Alchemists and secrets Donna really just wants a normal life.
Xan is a college drop out, attractive, secretive and something about him draws Donna in. With his own connection to Fey, they work together to solve some mysteries. 
Navin is Donna's best friend, yet he knows nothing about her world or her past, but all that will change. Navin was probably my favourite character, he was different - but even so there were moments when I expected him to react or turn out the hero or something and he would just say 'OK' and walk off.  His best friend reveals all sorts of strange truths and he hardly bats an eye.
I found the concept intriguing and parts were well done, however I'm not sure why, but I was bored at points throughout, I only kept reading because I hate to give up on books. 
As it is part of a trilogy some things may be expanded in the later books, but it seemed like we were told facts/information that had no real use at the time. 
There wasn't a lot of action in the book and Donna felt a bit whiny at times, but I didn't hate the book either. It was an OK, one time read and I think many others would love it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea, I'm not sure I'll read the rest of the series. Just wasn't for me.
I feel a bit conflicted with this book as I felt it had great potential but fell a little bit flat. I would recommend you try it for yourself though.

My Rating
I would give this book 5.5/10 Some good points, but overall disappointing for me.
 

Book Blogger Hop: July 29-Aug 1 & FF (28) & TGIF (11)

 

 
 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:
“Highlight one book you have received this week (for review, from the library, purchased at the store, etc.) that you can’t wait to dig into!”

My Answer: ooh i actually got a few books this week but the one I can't wait to read is:

Shimmer by Alyson Noel, this is the second book in the Riley Bloom series. I just finished "Everlasting' the last book in her Immortals series and I love her style. I love Riley as a character so am looking forward to this one. :D

from Amazon;
Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a little time-off. But then Riley encounters a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca’s sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she’s not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner, Rebecca is furious about being murdered during the slave revolt of 1733. Her uncontrollable anger is keeping other ghosts, who also died in the revolt, trapped in a shimmering bubble. And when Bodhi and Buttercup inadvertently fall into Rebecca's trap, Riley is the only one who can save them.



Follow Friday

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

This week's question feature is  The Book Addicted Girl

Q. Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What T-Shirt slogan best describes you? 

 

My Answer: 

 Hehe, I am always hyper and a bit crazy, it's best not to annoy me, it just makes me go extra loopy!!! lol

TGIF!

This meme is hosted by GReads!

This Friday's Question: 

Character Envy: If you could be one character from a book, 

who would you choose & why?

My Answer: I know I answered this one before a few weeks ago on one of the other meme's but I can't remember what I put. This time I think I'll go for Claire from the Morganville Vampires, think that would be interesting - a super cute boyfriend, a crazy boss, and a town full of vampires. what could go wrong? :D

 Happy Hopping, have a great weekend everyone!!!