New Moon:BAD LIP READING

Need a laugh today?
Thank you Bookshelves of Doom for finding this little gem.
This earned a snort laugh from me.
Enjoy.

A Gift Card Giveaway Hop!

The Christmas countdown has started. Are you ready?
What perfect timing for a giveaway hop!
The prizes are GIFT CARDS!!
I'm not participting in this hop but still wanted to give you all a heads up. I'll be hopping and hoping that I win one or two of these awesome giveaways.
But I have to admit that if I won a book gift card it would probably go into my own stocking!
A giant thank you to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Sweeping Me for hosting and organizing this giveaway hop.
Now grab a cup of hot chocolate and hop away. Good Luck!!
Click HERE to go to Giveaway Hop List.

BOOK REVIEW-The Dark Light

THE DARK LIGHT
By Sara Walsh
2012
483 Pages
Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she’s concerned, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.
That is, until Sol arrives. Mia’s not one to fall for just any guy, but she can’t get Sol—or the brilliant tattoo on his back—out of her mind.
Then Mia’s brother goes missing, and Mia’s convinced that Sol knows more than he’s sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything Mia once believed to be true. Because Sol’s not who Mia thought he was—and neither is she.
My thoughts:
Let's talk about the word "assume".
According to Webster the definition of the word assume means to take to or upon oneself.
I assumed many things about this book in the beginning-
Let's start with the first assumption-
The Cover:
Based on the beautiful cover of The Dark Light I thought this book was going to be rated PG(something I would put in the hands of an older teen)-there's a big sexual tone to it. She has the "this man is mine-come near him and I will cut you" stare. If you doubt the seriousness of her look-check out her hand planted firmly on his butt showing full ownership. Yep, I assumed Mia and the tattoo man probably had done/will do/are doing the BIG NASTY. Assumption was wrong-this romance is very G rated. Don't judge a book by it's cover you silly rabbit!
Content:
A lot of book reviews drop the word paranormal when talking about this book. Maybe we all have different definitions of paranormal? To me paranormal has elements of vampires, witches, werewolves, magic, etc. But after looking up the definition of paranormal in Webster's dictionary I found that paranormal means not scientifically explainable. The Dark Light has magic, a parallel universe, shape shifters/changelings, demons, and people with wings. This book sits firmly in the fantasy area for me. But it could technically be considered either/or/maybe both.
The Author:
I have never read anything by Sara Walsh before The Dark Light. After finishing this I can say I was blown away by the fact that I never knew what she was going to throw at me-the story was unpredictable on every level. The plot twists and story surprises kept me turning pages like a maniac.
Here we are tooling around in small town Nebraska, then when you least expect it she drops the reader into Brakaland and doesn't look back.
Her world building was amazing. I wanted to know more, more, more about Brakaland and Bordertown.
I liked that she made the characters real in the sense that they weren't perfect. I admired Mia's strength but at times she annoyed me by running head long into a situation she knew little about. I loved that she was so protective of her little brother but still acted like a seventeen year old that forgets to turn off her headlights and lets her car battery run out.
Don't even get me started on Uncle Pete. Flawed with a capital "F".
Sol's companion Delane is the trusty sidekick who brings the comedy to lighten the mood now and then. He was one of my favorite characters.
Sara Walsh recognizes that in order to connect/identify with a character they need to have some flaws.
At almost 500 pages the story wraps up nicely leaving a small possibility for a sequel(I could definitely hear more about Mia and Sol) but could also be left as a terrific stand alone novel.
If you are looking for great fantasy, romance with a ton of adventure this story is for you.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I'll be donating it to my local Middle School where it's sure to be a big hit.

Please Santa Please!

This is at the top of my Christmas wish list-
Sending out some Santa Signals for this book that I've read great reviews for. Forget warm and fuzzy for the holidays-I want a hair raising, nail biter.

Movie Trailer-WARM BODIES

The movie version of Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion is headed to a theater near you-FEB. 2013
Book summary taken from Goodreads.com-
A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.
I haven't read this one yet but it sounds like an interesting take on a zombie book. I will definitely be checking it out before I see it on the big screen.
Here's the movie trailer-Enjoy!

WINNER! WINNER!

The turkey has been eaten, black Friday has come and gone and hopefully everyone read at least a book or two over the Thanksgiving holiday. Gratitude Giveaways has officially wrapped up and a winner has been chosen!
LEAH49
Congratulations!
The winner will be sent a copy of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.
Leah49 has 48 hours to respond to the email sent or a new winner will be chosen.
Thank you to all who participated and hopped. And HUGS to I'm a Reader, Not a Writer who hosted and organized another fantastic giveaway hop.

GRATITUDE GIVEAWAYS

Welcome to GRATITUDE GIVEAWAYS!
This year has been a great year for growth and learning. I have always had a passion for books and reading has always been a wonderful escape for me. To have a place to share that love means more to me than words can really express. I am filled with gratitude for fellow bloggers who inspire me, followers that that the time to drop by and BOOKS.
I also want to throw out a BIG thank you to Kathy at I'm A Reader, Not A Writer that hosts and organizes every single hop and giveaway that I participate in-I'm not really sure how she manages to run a fabulous blog, support bloggers and authors and host great giveaways-I suspect she has super powers.....THANK YOU KATHY!!!
I love young adult and spend most of my reading time in this area. In celebration of the books I love I would like to give away one of the following books that were chosen for this year's TEENS' TOP TEN WINNERS(which was announced by YALSA -Young Adult Library Services Association). These titles are chosen and voted on by teens as the best of the best for the year.
This is the list-

1). Divergent-Veronica Roth
2). The Fault in Our Stars-John Green
3). Legend-Marie Lu
4). Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- Ransom Riggs
5). What Happened to Goodbye-Sarah Dessen
6). Across the Universe-Beth Revis
7). Cinder-Marissa Meyer
8). The Scorpio Races-Maggie Stiefvater
9). Where She Went-Gayle Forman
10). Abandon- Meg Cabot
So this giveaway is reader's choice. Tell me which book you would like to win if your name is drawn.
**Rules for the Giveaway:

1. Please enter contact information in comment section along with your book choice.
2. This giveaway runs from November 15th to November 25th. A winner will be selected on November 26th.
3. You must be 13 years or older to participate.
4. If you are selected as the winner, you will be notified by email. If you do not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
5. This giveaway is open to everyone-BUT you must be a follower.