It's my BIRTHDAY!!! & giveaway

So today (29th August) is my Birthday and I am now 24. Wow, just saying that makes me gulp. How on earth am I 24 already??? It's scary.

I got some good presents, not as many books as I thought I would but there were some in there. I got series 3 & 4 of 'Merlin' on DVD. My goodness I love Merlin, such a good series.
I also got one of the best presents ever. My mum got me a 'KitchenAid' mixer!!!! I love to make cakes but I've never had a mixer before so this is awesome.

Isn't it pretty!!!! I can make so many more cakes now. Yum  Yum!

I also got a funky t-shirt from my brother:

My jacket is covering it slightly, but it says 'Release The Attack Kittens' so sweet and makes me giggle.   I love it.
He also brought me BOOKS!!! I got Book 1, 5 & 6 in the 'Bloody Jack' series by L.A. Meyer (Bloody Jack, Mississippi Jack, My Bonny Light Horseman) I love this series and am excited to get some more, I will be having a pirate marathon read with these! :D

Steve Cole author of 'Cows in Action' and 'Astrosaurs' and the 'Z-Rex' series came by the library to see me last week and gave me a signed copy of his new book 'Z-Apocalypse' and a small cuddly squirrel, but this is no ordinary squirrel - it's a NINJA squirrel. lol. :D Thanks Steve!!! :) x

I also got enough money to buy 1 more book, so I will be buying 'The Rise of Nine' by Pittacus Lore as it comes out tomorrow. As I know my best friend is getting me the new Skulduggery Pleasant book which also comes out tomorrow.
As most of my friends are on holiday this week I am not having my party until Saturday.


So yes, my Birthday started well, but then, well it kind of went downhill. My parents, brother and I went to Ampthill Park for a walk. We tend to go every year on my birthday and when it's good weather the views are like this:

Beautiful right, it's like you're on top of the world. 

Well not today! before we left we checked the weather and it said no rain before 11am. We got there at about 10 and had just got to the top of the hill when the heavens opened and we got soaked. We all ran back to the car and came home. We had only been there for about 10 minutes tops! So annoyed.

Then I couldn't think of anything to do for the rest of the day, as I said most of my friends are on hols and my family aren't sporty/active like me so I couldn't think what else to do, plus I didn't want to go out in the wet. So I did what any good bookworm does and I read! I may not have gone out anywhere physically, but mentally I journeyed to Shadow Falls camp and hung out with some friends there!

It's times like these I thank the Lord that things like Books exist and that I am privileged to be able to get hold of them so easily. They make life so much more exciting. So although this wasn't the best birthday in history (in fact it was a little disappointing) I was actually quite happy in the end.

Now I want to share that happiness with you, my lovely readers. The book that made me so happy today was:

Whispers at Moonrise by C.C Hunter, Book 4 in the Shadow Falls series.

I adore this series and think everyone should read them, they are so good. So I am offering you lucky people a chance to win Book 1 in the series - 'Born at Midnight'

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

If you have already read/own a copy of book 1 you may select any of the rest of the series (book 2, 3 or 4) However book 4 is not released/on sale until November so if you choose that, you need to accept that you will have to wait for your prize. (but it's well worth the wait, I promise!!!)

Here are the rules: 

1) Competition opens 29th August 2012
2) Competition closes on 5th September 2012 Midnight GMT
3) Enter your Name, E-mail and Blog Link in the Linky List Below (email will be hidden, if you don't have a blog just enter your Facebook or Twitter page)
4) You Must be a Follower to enter!
5) One Name will be selected at random from the list.
6) Contest open Internationally
7) Winners will be contacted by e-mail
8) Winners will have 3 days to reply or another winner will be selected.
You MUST fill in the Linky form to be in with a chance to enter. Do NOT put your details in the comments section. 
I don't have time to go through all the comments or add you on the list myself. 
All you need to do is put your name/blog name in the box that says 'Contest Entry', a link to your blog/facebook in the box that says 'Link' and then your email address in the box that says 'Email'

Good Luck Everyone!!!!!!! :D