Angel Star Inspired Jewelry

So one of the best debut novels of the year now has its own jewelry. Check out the Angel Star inspired jewelry.  I might have to pick up the Angel Star Charm Bracelet! This way you can wear the symbols that remind you of the beautiful story that author Jennifer Murgia created in her popular novel Angel Star!

Make sure you check it out! They are all awesome!

Divided by Kelley Armstrong

Very excited! I just discovered Kelley Armstrongs new Darkest Powers Blog. As an added bonus, it turns out that Kelley has been posting a side story to The Awakening book. So, if you are wondering what happened when Derek and Simon were seperated from Chloe after their escape from Lyle House you can find Derek's view of the events we missed in The Awakening. The story is titled Divided you can read the first four chapters now and chater five is due to be posted tomorrow. Just click here to read the story: http://www.darkestpowers.com/blog/

AND... You can read how Simon and Derek came to be at Lyle House in the first place. http://www.darkestpowers.com/Dangerous.pdf

Enjoy! I know I did!

AND....it just keeps getting better. Kelley just released the cover of The Gathering which is her next YA series. Isn't it great??? I love it! As I mentioned in my review of The Darkest Powers series, The Gathering is the first book in a new series that is set in the same "world" so to speak. It focuses on a different bunch of kids who have been experimented on. In The Darkest Powers the characters were part of an experiment called Project Genesis. The next series Darkness Rising follows the characters who were part of the experiment called Project Phoenix.

Quick synopsis of the book:
Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can’t find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred people, and her school has only sixty-eight students—for every grade from kindergarten to twelve.
 Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya's determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya's home, and they won’t go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts getting negative vibes from certain people and things. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret—and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.

Win an ARC of Shadow Hills

Click here to read a review of Shadow Hills. This book is set to release on July 13th but you could win it early by stopping by http://youngadultlitreviewblog.blogspot.com/ and following the entry rules at the bottom of the review! Good Luck!!

Dark Flame Reading and Signing in Chi-town!

I ventured into the Chicago area to meet Alyson Noel author of the Immortals series. It was a strangely surreal experience. I left Bloomington around 4pm and was about 10 miles from my exit when I got a text (via Twitter) from Alyson saying how bad the storm was. I didn’t think it was that bad. I mean the skies were dark but there wasn’t even any rain where I was. Then all of a sudden BAM! I am talking torrential downpour. It was so bad that many people pulled onto the shoulder because it was so had to see 10 feet in front of the car. I was determined to make it to the event so I powered through (may seem silly but I was confident I would be fine – which I was since I am writing this post :). Then I missed my turn and got lost in the madness. There were flooded street and almost all street lights were out near the Border I was heading to. So I finally got there (20 minutes early even) and I was able to snag a front row seat! Sweet!

They announced Alyson had made it and …ok you really have to visualize this to get the full impact. Alyson walks up and says “Hi, well thanks for…” cue power outage and emergency lights. No joke I had barely even turned my head to see her walk to the front when suddenly I could see anything. Lol Alyson being the good sport she is continued on and did a reading from Dark Flame (she read the first Summerland scene in chapter 9) by flash light.

Then we did Q & A and found out about lots of cool up and coming things Alyson is working on. Even a new series about a girl who will be the next shaman! This series has not even been started but Alyson hopes to have it out by early 2012. I know I will be in line to buy that if it is even ½ as good as The Immortals Series! After Q&A I got all four of the books in the series signed and chatted with Alyson about the fact that I will be moving to California in Oct so I will be attending her “Night Star” signing there. I was one of the first to get my stuff signed so I was out of the darkness early. It was an event to remember for sure. The funny thing is that the power outage was almost fitting considering she was here to promote “Dark Flame,” all that was missing was the candle and we would have been all set :).

Enter to Win at Supernatural Underground

To win a signed copy of THE BODY FINDER, along with a swag pack, including a TBF totebag, bracelets, stickers, and signed bookmarks. click here

Contest on the Supernatural Underground!

Who do you prefer? The sweet, endearing Nice Guy (Jay from The Body Finder) or the down-and-dirty Bad Boy (Patch from Hush, Hush)?

Leave a comment on Kimberly Dertings post and enter to win the goodies list above.

The Darkest Powers Series by Kelley Armstrong

I read this series in about a week. I am so glad that I started the series now (after they were all out). I don’t think I would have been able to wait for a year in between the second and third. This is truly a series in the sense that you will need to read the whole thing to get the big picture. I don’t recommend you pick up the second or third book before reading the first. You will not get the full effect. Anyways, that being said….

The Summoning

The series starts here with Chloe Saunders. Chloe’s mother died when she was young and her father is a workaholic who is rarely in town so she spends a lot of time with her aunt Lauren (her mother’s sister). Chloe is going about her business when BAM! (puberty officially hits) and she is suddenly plagued by visions of ghosts. And these ghosts are not content with a simple wave hello they demand attention! Cue hysterical fit while being chased through school by a rooting dead guy that only she can she…..Chloe is sent to a group home for troubled teens.

At first, Lyle House is not so bad. Chloe is told she is schizophrenic, but how is it her mind can create a hallucination of someone she has never met? Dealing with these issues is complicated enough but add a cute and charming Simon, his hulking and disgruntled brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and fire obsessed Rae and suddenly Lyle house starts to seem like it hides a secret of its own. Escape maybe the only option…

The Awakening

 Escape was only somewhat successful. Now Chloe and Rae are being held in another facility and have been separated from Simon and Derek. Turns out that they were/are all subjects in a study on supernatural children by the Edison Group. Chloe is a necromancer, Simon is a sorcerer, Derek is a werewolf, Tori and Rae are witches….well there is a demon in there somewhere too. Anyways, not exactly a hospitable environment so once again it is time to get the heck out of dodge.

Tori and Chloe manage to rejoin Simon and Derek and they set off to find the guy’s father, he maybe the only one who can help keep them safe and answer all of their questions. Derek and Chloe spend a good chunk of time together in this book. After the first book it seems like Simon is the match for Chloe. I mean how could the grumpy werewolf be? Well I know that I was rooting for Derek since the end of The Summoning. I was so frustrated that Derek and Chloe were so reluctant to admit their feelings for each other.

The Reckoning

The last book in the series starts off in the safe house that the group escapes to after finding Andrew, who is a friend of Simon and Derek's dad. Derek is finally able to make the change into a wolf, which has been a very painful problem in the last two books. His feelings for Chloe are even more apparent in this book even though he refuses to express them to Chloe. Chloe is more confused in this book about her feelings for Simon and Derek as well. As the group learns more about what the Edison Group has been up to and what was done to them, they start to realize that friends may be enemies and enemies may be friends. This book brings the gang full circle and I was thoroughly pleased with the way it ended.

Plus it turns out they were not the only group that was experimented on…I can’t wait to read the next series Darkness Rising. The Gathering is scheduled to release in April of next year.

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

I read this book a few months ago and just purchased the audiobook to listen to at work. I am so glad that I am revisiting this book because it is amazing! Grace Divine is the daughter of a pastor which has its own set of expectations above and beyond that of a normal teenage girl. Like all good stories there is a boy (a supremely hot bad boy at that). Daniel Kalbi has had it rough, coming from an abusive family, but luckily he had the Divine’s to count on. He grew up next door to Grace and her brother Jude. Jude and Daniel were best friends growing up but all that changed a few years ago when Jude came home bloody and broken and Daniel disappeared. Jude wont talk about what happened that night and so Grace has always wondered what became of the boy she knew.

Daniel has returned and the past is quickly coming back to bite Grace. The simple crush she fostered for Daniel when they were kids is rekindled by his return and she can’t seem to stay away from him despite her brothers warnings. Why does Jude hate Daniel so much? And once Grace finds out, can she get past the horrible truth and find a way to save Daniel without losing her very soul in the process? The beauty of this book is the suspense that builds behind the secrets of Daniel’s past. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who have not read it because the guess work is half the fun.

The romance in this book is amazing as well. I love it when characters grow up together and fall in love. I love the history of it. The next installment is due out in December of this year!! I can’t wait! This may be Bree Despain’s debut, but we will be seeing a lot of her in the future I am sure!

Supernatural Summer Tour

I had such a good time meeting all of these amazing women. I originally planned the trip to meet Kimberly Derting but decided to read some of the books by the other authors and loved them too. They were all so nice and seemed to be having a blast on the tour. I am extremly excited so read the next instalments in all of their series!

Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Ellen Schreiber and Kimberly Derting

Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong (Showing off her latest "The Reckoning"), Ellen Schreiber and Kimberly Derting

Kimberly Derting and I - The Body Finder is amoung my all time favs!!!

Kim Harrison and I

Kelley Armstrong and I

Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

I finished this book in one sitting. It was that good! The story follows seventeen year old Tamsin Greene as she struggles with being the only non magical member of her family. Everyone in Tamsin's family has a Talent. Finding things that are lost, mind reading, power to freeze, these are only some of the Talents that are held by members of Tamsin's family. Tamsin was suppose to be one of the most Talented witches that the Greene family had ever seen. Unfortunately, Tamsin's Talent never came. Being the only non magical person in a very magical family is tough on Tamsin and she has been trying to distance herself from her family. She is attending a boarding school in Manhattan.

On a visit home to her family's store Tamsin meets a handsome professor who mistakes her for her sister Rowena. Tamsin decides to take advantage of this case of mistaken identity and prove that she can be just as useful as her The professor hires Tamsin to find a priceless family heirloom, a clock that his been lost to his family for generations. Tamsin quickly finds herself in over her head when the quest to find the clock requires a trip through time. Aided by a childhood friend, Gabriel who Tamsin has growing feelings for, Tamsin must discover the secret behind her lack of Talent and the motives behind the professor's search for the clock. This book has it all mystery, romance, the supernatural, and a lot of memorable moments.

And FYI I hear through the grape vine that there will indeed be a sequel! “Always a Witch” may be out in early 2011! I can't wait!!!

P.S. I was in Japan after reading this book and I came across a locket/watch necklace that reminded me of the one Tamsin has in the book. I had to have it! Once you read the book you will totally get why I needed it lol.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

So I am another year older...*sigh* I am excited about this weekend. Not only because I am going home to see my family and best friend, but also because I am going to the Supernatural Summer Tour. I will be in Naperville IL tomorrow to meet Kimberly Derting, Kim Harrision, Kelley Armstrong, and Ellen Schreiber! I can’t wait! I will post some pictures as soon as I get back. I also need to post the pictures from the Fate Tour I went to a few weeks ago. I know I am slacking but I have had a lot going on. Graduating from grad school and the issue with my dog I mentioned yesterday has kept me pretty busy these past few weeks. So 26...weird...I got my license 10 years ago today. That is just scary. Lol Anyways…I will try to keep the reviews coming (I am very behind) and talk at you later :)

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is amazing! This book was actually the first book of hers I read and after I finished I just had to head out to the book store to pick up more. "Along for the Ride," is her most recent release and I can see why she has had the success she has. It was phenomenal! Just further justification for why, after reading this book, she became one of my favorite YA authors!

Auden is spending the summer with her father and his new family (a very young and very pregnant wife). While some things are changing Auden’s sleepless nights are not. Auden has missed out on all the normal experiences that a girl has in high school: friends, boys, parties, etc. because she was too busy being the perfect daughter for her mother. But her new job in her stepmother’s boutique introduces her to all that she has been missing…oh and did I mention Eli?

Eli is a loner and a fellow insomniac who she soon starts spending her long sleepless nights with. Soon Auden and Eli embark on a series of quests to introduce Auden to some of the things she has missed out on and maybe even get Eli to come to terms with a loss he has suffered.

All of the assumptions and judgments that Auden has made in her life about who people, what they are like, and how they should act are challenged. Maybe a girl can be "girly" while still being smart and kicking a little ass once in a while ;) Auden and Eli were a great contrast and made for an interesting romance. Loved it!! And I can’t wait for the next Dessen book...

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The story is centered around sixteen-year-old Miranda's life after a meteor crashes into the Moon. Life as they knew it would never be the same. The collision pushes the Moon closer to Earth and causes tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc…Thousands are dead within the first 24 hours and the numbers just keep rising as the book continues. Power outages as well as food, water, and fuel shortages all create a platform for the chaos that ensues.

The story is told through journal entries where Miranda describes her life and the fate of her town over the course of a year. Miranda is living with her mother and two brothers (one older and one younger). Her father and his new pregnant wife live in another state (which is a cause for concern for Miranda throughout the story).

To be honest the book is sort of scary in a way. It portrays a fairly realistic glimpse of how people would react if food and resources were suddenly scarce. For most people who read this book, this realistic portrayal will be what makes them love it. The constant death and destruction soon left me feeling depressed whenever I picked the book up.

This book was pretty good. It has a good message behind it: "Appreciate what you have, because tomorrow it could be gone." But it was also kind of depressing. I recommend you flip through this one before you buy it. I will probably read the second and third books when I get around to it so I guess I liked it enough to do that. I hope this review is helpful! :)