A BOOK WITH BITE

VAMPIRE ACADEMY
by Richelle Mead
2007
332 Pages

From Back Cover:
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampires- the ones who never die.
The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathoway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lisssa from Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.
After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, hidden deep in the forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking Academy hearts.
Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's-inside the Academy's iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. Here the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals, and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever.....
My thoughts:

Does anyone else think that the girl on the cover looks like Angelina Jolie?
This is the first book in the Vampire Academy series. We are introduced to Lissa and Rose who are in hiding from two enemies- the Academy and the Strigoi. The girls have actually run away from the Academy but are caught and taken back in the first chapter--don't worry I'm not giving anything away. The story starts to flow once they are taken back to the Academy and life resumes as it once was. We learn the dynamics of Rose and Lissa's relationship and the powerful bond that draws them together. Not only do they have some serious bad guys to watch out for-they also have to beware the hierarchy of high school. Which can be just as vicious and bloody as any gang of bad ass vampires. Once I learned everyone's title and lineage-Moroi, Strigoi, Dahampir, etc. it was easier to understand the story. I found it a little confusing at the first but it eventually sorts itself out.
I found the story intriguing and was disappointed when the end came. I look forward to the next book in the series called Frost Bite. I recommend this book for ages 14 and up for sexual content, language and drinking.
Our library does not carry this book but I was able to borrow it through Inter Library Loan.

WINNER! WINNER!

AND THE WINNER IS........

Emily The Ninja Librarian!!!

Congrats Emily!

I'm be mailing out your book-

I'd Tell You That I Love You, But I'd Have To Kill You

By Ally Carter

Thanks to all who entered.

Winner was drawn by way of hat by my assistant

The Amazing Emma(7 year old daughter)!

BOOK BLOGGER HOP

IT'S TIME TO HOP!

This weekly meme is hosted by Jennifer Crazy for Books

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on!
This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!
So......
1. Grab the logo
2.Post about the Hop on your blog
3. Start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!
A GIANT thank you to Jennifer!
HAVE FUN!!

SUMMER TIME GIVEAWAY!

YOU'RE NOT DREAMING!
I really am giving away a beautiful hard back copy of Pretty Little Liars!
For three reasons:
1. It's an awesome summer time read to get lost in.
2. It's a new series on ABC Family
3. Read it and be a part of the 2010 challenge my friend Trisha is hosting over at Trishas Book Blog

To enter please leave email address with comment so I can contact you if I draw your name. This contest is open to every one including international peps. Drawing will be held on July18th. Good luck!

A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

ANOTHER FAUST

By Daniel and Dina Nayeri

2009

Candlewick Press

387 Pages

From Inside Cover:

On a single night, five children suddenly vanish from their homes in Paris, Glasgow, Rome and London. Years later, five enigmatic teenagers make an impressive entrance at an exclusive New Your holiday party with their strange but beautiful governess, Madame Vileroy. Rumor and intrigue follow the Faust children to the elite Manhattan Marlowe School, where their very presence brings unexplainable misfortune.

Using "gifts" given to them by Madam Vileroy, these mysterious teenagers rise to suspicious heights at Marlowe. Though at first their abilities seem almost childlike in their simplicity, they soon learn that their new found talents for cheating, stealing, hiding, and lying are far more potent than they ever imagined-and far more additive.

Ignoring the side effects of pursuing their individual obsessions, bargaining with the very devil in their midst as they claw their way to the top, these five ambitious teens draw ever nearer to their goals...until two of them uncover a secret even more shocking then their own unforgivable sins. Dialing up the ancient dilemma of indulgence versus redemption, this modern day retelling of the Faustian bargain story, set in twenty-first-century Manhattan, provides a look into the cutthroat world of high-school competition that is both bitingly funny and scorchingly wicked.

My thoughts:

This story is a modern telling of Faust and the devil. First, I think it's important to know who Faust is-it explains the story line a little better. Faust was a magician and alchemist in German legend who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for power and knowledge.
Another Faust is about five kids who wished to be rich beyond all imagination, beautiful above all others and more powerful than anyone else. They wanted it so bad they were willing to do anything-even sell their souls to the devil for all eternity. But the devil doesn't give gifts for free, what you wish for always comes for a price.
Manhattan Marlowe School, a deluxe private school for the very wealthy is the setting for this tale. These new power hungry kids will stop at nothing to claw their way to the top. Some of their tricks include mind reading, stopping time, and erasing the past. Marlowe School has no idea what it's in for nor the havoc that these new students will bring to it's halls. This is a dark page turner full of twists and turns, belt yourself in a prepare for one hell of a ride!
I look forward to the next book in the series called Another Pan. I plan to do a special giveaway for Another Pan ARCS in the near future! Check back for that.
Special thanks goes to Candlewick Press for this book which will now be donated to the Salmon Public Library. I recommend this book for reader 12 and up.

Another Faust

A BLOG AWARD!

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY AGENT....

Oh, wait wrong speech!

I received this award from Melissa over at Coffee, Books and Laundry. Thanks!

I advice everyone to check out her blog, it's really great.

The Rules:When you receive this award, you must share seven things about yourself and then pass it on to 15 blogs you have recently discovered that you enjoy!

Seven things about myself:

1. I can stop my children in their tracks with a look I call "mama's crazy eyes". My fifteen year old son as admitted that it makes him want to wet himself from fear. ( I call it a super power)

2. If I could put coffee or coke into my body through an IV to help me maintain through the day I would .

3. I absolutely hate, and I mean hate cleaning the shower!
4. I don't play an instrument but would really love to learn.
5. I am seriously addicted to Ben and Jerry Ice cream-New York Super Fudge Chunk.

6. I'm married to my high school sweetheart- we have been together for 22 years

7.Reading books is my therapy-without it there would be a great many shallow grades hidden along in the countryside........
Now to passing on the award..These are all blogs I recently discovered that I love:

The Worm Hole

Book Snake Reviews

Just One More Paragraph

Rae Reads
Once Upon a Time

Tiffany's Bookshelf

Reading, Reading and Life
Larissa's Bookish Life
Chick Love's Lit
Cookies, Books and Bikes
Emily's Reading Room
Mental Debris Books
A Novel Idea
Read It, See It
A Blog About Nothing

CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS

Here's the low down on some awesome contests and giveaways going on right now:

*Rica and Okapi at The Smarty Owl are having a 50 Followers/Blogoversary/Rica's Birthday Giveaway

The Prize: A ton of books

* Reggie at The Undercover Book Lover is hosting Paranormal Five Giveaway

The Prize: 5 awesome paranormal books

* Amber at The Reading Addict is giving away a signed copy of My Invisible Boyfreind and some cool swag

* Kelly at Bookend Diaries is having a very cool Beach Bag Giveaway

HIPPITY HOPPITY- LOOK AT TAMMY GO!!

WHAT IS THE HOP??

Well let my friend Jennifer Crazy for Books at explain.......

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on!

This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!

So......

1. Grab the logo

2.Post about the Hop on your blog

3. Start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!

DISCLAIMER:The Hop isn't just for you to throw your link in there and not visit any other blogs. It's all about networking and finding new blogs that are of interest. So, in the spirit of the Hop, try to make some time to visit other blogs and don't post your link if you are not planning on visiting other blogs in the Hop that week.

A GIANT thank you to Jennifer for hosting this super fun meme!

SUMMER TIME GIVEAWAY!!

YOU'RE NOT DREAMING!

I really am giving away a beautiful hard back copy of Pretty Little Liars!

For three reasons:

1. It's an awesome summer time read to get lost in.

2. It's a new series on ABC Family

3. Read it and be a part of the 2010 challenge my friend Trisha is hosting over at Trishas Book Blog

To enter please leave email address with comment so I can contact you if I draw your name. This contest is open to every one including international peps. Drawing will be held on July18th. Good luck!

MY! WHAT BIG TEETH YOU HAVE!

SHIVER

By Maggie Stiefvater

390 pages

2009

From Inside Cover:

The Cold.

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf-her wolf-watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

The Heat.

Sam has two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

The Shiver.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human-and Grace must fight to keep him-even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

My thoughts:

This paranormal romance is told from two different point of views- Grace and Sam. Grace has a huge fascination with the wolves that run free in the forest behind her house. One wolf in particular seems to also have a fascination with her. It turns out that Grace was attacked as a child by a group of wolves, saving her from the attack was Sam the werewolf. Now they are connected by a bond that is very strong and very complicated.

Sam is on borrowed time as he fights to stay in his human form as the temperature drops. Now that Grace has discovered love, she desperately tries to find a way, maybe a cure to keep Sam from leaving her forever.

The writing is beautiful, descriptive, and lyrical especially from Sam's point of view. It was so easy to hear him speak from his heart and his thoughts were sometimes just heartbreaking.

Maggie's character sometimes annoyed me a little bit-maybe because I kept expecting her to react to her parent's indifference and selfishness and it never happened. That relationship just didn't feel real to me. The parents attitude seemed a little to convenient for the story.

I also struggled with the temperature/werewolf thing. We have all grown up with werewolf folklore and it's always been connected to phases of the moon. But it was an interesting twist that was needed for the story.

I'm very interested to see where Linger- the sequel to Shiver takes it's readers. There is more of the tale that needs to be told and I'm very curious to see what unfolds in the lives of Grace and Sam.

This book is available at the Salmon Public Library. I would recommend this book for readers 14 and up based on subject matter.

YA MOVIE NEWS

In Big Blog News today........

Miley Cyrus to play Janie???

Hmmmmmm

It's always exciting when a great YA book is made into a movie-unless of course, the lead role is going to be played by someone you can't possibly imagine being cast as the main character.

Kristen Stewart comes to mind....(did I just say that out loud?)

Lisa McMann author of the Wake trilogy, has just confirmed on her blog that the rumors of a Wake movie coming soon to a theater near you is becoming a reality with Paramount and MTV Films picking up the film rights.

So we all wait with fingers crossed that Miley Cyrus doesn't disappoint and Wake is the great movie that it should be.

DAY 3- BLOGGIESTA

Hola!

It's the last day of the Bloggiesta and I'm happy to say that I have made a serious dent in my to do list!

1. Changed layout and look of my BLOG

2. Updated my "About Me" section

3. Participated in mini challenge-Long term and short term goals of BLOG hosted by Kim and Jackie at the Blog Improvement Project

4. Updated my "Challenges"

5. Cleaned up my tags

6. Participated in mini challenge-How to back up your BLOG by Jackie at Farm Lane Book Blog

Not only am I doing some serious housekeeping on my site, I'm learning so many things!

So I continue to Bloggiesta on day three-I can't wait to see what today will bring.

DAY 2 -BLOGGIESTA!

READY! SET! GO!!!
MY GOALS:
*Write backup posts for a rainy day.
*Clean up my tags, archives, & books reviewed list
*Improve my blog template & clean up sidebars
*Edit my about me page & review policy
*Clean up and update my challenge lists.
*Make sure all of my social network profiles are up to date.
*Visit the Blogging Tips group on the Book Blogs Ning and find ways to improve my blog
*Clean out and organize my feed reader and blog subscriptions
* Participate in at least 2 mini challenges during Bloggiesta

Wish me luck!!!!

BLOGGIESTA STARTS NOW!

It's Party Time!!

Welcome to the Third Edition Bloggiesta

Led by none other than our awesome mascot....

Pedro!
Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize.
How to Party!
Bloggiesta begins now and runs through Sunday the 13th (technically the wee hours of Monday morning). You can really start whenever you want within that time but official hours are 8am to 8am (wherever you are). The hours spent on the challenge do NOT need to be in a row. Use the entire 72 hour time frame and see what you can do with it. It’s your call as to how much you want to put into it. But you have to put something into it or it’s not a challenge. So, head over to Maw Books, sign the Linky and get ready to do some work on your blog while chatting with other bloggers this weekend (and having an all around good time while we're at it)! See you there!

DO THE HIP HOP! DON'T STOP!!! IT'S THE BOOK HOP!!

TGIF!!!!!

Hop on over and join the fun!!

Book Blogger Hop hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books . A BIG OL THANKS to Jennifer!

The Hop is designed to discover other great book bloggers and be discovered yourself. Find new blogs, enter awesome giveaways and contests AND find books that have been read and reviewed! WOW!!!

PS Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!! Last week!

GIVEAWAY!

Don't Forget To Enter My Giveaway!!!
Up for grabs......
I'd Tell You I Love You But I'd Have To Kill You By Ally Carter
The first book in a series. I read and reviewed this book that month and thought it was great.Entering is simple-
1.Leave a comment with your email address
2. You must be 13 or older to enter
3. Sorry no international entries pleaseThat's it! Good luck!
Winner will be drawn June 22, 2010

BLOGGIESTA BABY!!!!

BLOGGIESTA:

is coming up this weekend - June 11, 12, and 13 - hosted by Natasha from Maw Books! Are you ready to get your blog in tip-top shape and start working on all those little things you've been putting off?

Now's your chance to join the fun and cheer other bloggers on while doing it! From Natasha's blog post, here's what Bloggiesta is all about:
Some of you may be asking what is Bloggiesta?

In short, it’s a blogging marathon. A opportunity to cross those nagging items off of your to-do list and improve your blog while in the good company of other awesome bloggers doing the same thing. Break out the nachos, enchiladas, drinks, mariachi music and whack a pinata or two!What to do during the Bloggiesta?

*Write reviews.
*Write backup posts for a rainy day.
*Write that great post idea from three months back.
*Work on series posts.
*Write guest posts.
*Put out invitations for guest posts.
*Conduct and edit author interviews.
*Create template posts for your future reads (ie: title, images, linking, tags, etc,) so you can open up, write review and post without being bogged down with technicalities
*Clean up your tags, archives, books reviewed list, etc.
*Create a text file (or Google Doc) of cheat sheets (html codes, post url’s, etc) Improve your blog template, clean up sidebars, add a favicon, install those plugins that you’ve been meaning to do.
*Add or edit your about me page, review policy, disclosure policy, privacy policy, create landing pages (for example – an about me for Twitter readers page) or any other pages you might have. *Any bloggy type housekeeping that you’ve been neglecting.
*Clean up and update your challenge lists.

*Link up your posts with hosts.
*Make sure all of your social network profiles are up to date.

*Brand yourself through those profiles with color scheme, images, etc.
*Go get a gravatar.
*Visit the Blogging Tips group on the Book Blogs Ning and find ways to improve your blog.
*Work on any specialized projects that you may have going.
*Clean out and organize your feed reader and blog subscriptions.
*Create an elevator pitch.
*Make business cards. Find a blogging buddy.
*The sky’s the limit!
So, head over to Maw Books, sign the Linky and get ready to do some work on your blog while chatting with other bloggers this weekend (and having an all around good time while we're at it)! See you there!

A SUPER COOL SUMMER CONTEST!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

Heather and Pushy over at

Bewitched Bookworms are having a Summer Book Contest to celebrate summer and reading of course. They are giving some awesome prizes away so use the link, head over there and get yourself signed up.

Contest ends June 21st so get going!!

PS there are so many great giveaways going on right now-I'll try to keep you updated so you can enter your little heart out!

IT"S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

What Are You Reading?

Is hosted by Sheila from One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books is where we gather together to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and find new titles to add to your reading list.
Book NOT Completed the Past Two Weeks:
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

After much hair pulling and therapy from fellow bloggers I'm moving on!
Reading Next:

Give up the Ghost

by Megan Crewe

&

Something, Maybe

by Elizabeth Scott

A QUESTION!

?????QUESTION OF THE DAY?????

I have been trying to finish a book for two weeks.

I am embarrassed to reveal the name of the novel because it has been hugely popular and on the New York Times Best Seller list for weeks and months.....

And yet I force myself to pick it up every day and read a few pages only to throw it down again in disgust and frustration.

So the question is-

At what point do you give up on a book or do you force yourself to finish it because pride won't let you quit???

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

SUPER FUN BLOGS I DISCOVERED ON HOP!

**No Rest for the Wicked

**Bewitched Bookworms

**Book Love

**Emily's Reading Room

**I Have a Dream

Check these awesome blogs out!

Have a great weekend everyone!

LET'S DO THE HOP BABY!!!!

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It's Friday!
Hop on over and join the fun!! Book Blogger Hop hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books . THANK YOU Jennifer! The Hop is designed to discover other great book bloggers and be discovered yourself. Not only do we discover new blogs, enter awesome book giveaways and find great books to add to the ever GROWING wish-list.
Come On!

PS Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway AND
Have a great weekend!!!

GIVEAWAY!!

Don't Forget To Enter My Giveaway!!!

Up for grabs......

I'd Tell You I Love You But I'd Have To Kill You By Ally Carter

The first book in a series. I read and reviewed this book that month and thought it was great.Entering is simple-

1.Leave a comment with your email address

2. You must be 13 or older to enter

3. Sorry no international entries please
That's it! Good luck!

Winner will be drawn June 22, 2010