Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Summary (from Goodreads): Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. 

But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Review: First I have to say that I LOVED the cover! The lily's were a perfect representation of Calla especially since it was Ren's "nickname" for her. I've heard great things about this book and I was not disappointed. Nightshade was well written with an excellent set of characters and an amazing plot. Calla is the head of the Nightshade pack and Ren is the head of the Bane pack. There destiny has been decided for them since birth. They are supposed to mate and start a new pack. Calla who wants to do what is right has accepted this to an extent. However, things start to change after Calla saves Shay a human boy who was being attacked by a bear during a hike. She thought she would never see him again but it turns out he is the "new guy" at their school and someone that the Keepers what them to protect. As Calla and Shay spend time together they develop feelings for each other that could get them both in trouble. Nightshade is full of surprises and lots of twists and turns. The last few chapters had me sitting on pins and needles and biting my nails. 


The next book called Wolfsbane comes out July 26, 2011 and is at the top of my wishlist. I'm super excited about it! You can find out more about Andrea Cremer at her website. 


Comment and tell me what you think if you've read it. Don't forget comments get you extra entries in the contest. 


My Rating: 

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

 Summary (from Goodreads): "Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. 

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth. 

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers. 
But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?"


This is the second book in a series by Rachel Hawkins. The first book was Hex Hall and I loved it. Hex Hall ended with alot of surprised so i've been anxious for about a year to get my hands on this and finally my wish was granted when it came out last month! I'm happy to say that Rachel Hawkins did not disappoint. Demonglass was amazing and I love the cover! Demonglasses is full of witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, demons, and hot guys what more could I ask for. Sophie is a strong independent female character that I love. Demonglass explained more about each character as well as introduced some new characters. We learned more about Cal who was introduced in the last book and I really like him. Sophie finally meets her dad who turns out to be pretty cool and in the end there is a very interesting twist with him and I can't wait to read the next book.

 There isn't a title yet for the next books but as soon as there is I will keep everyone updated. You can learn more about Rachel Hawkins at her blog.

 Don't forget to comment to enter the contest!

My Rating:

New Reviews and Contest News!

So i've had the craziest weekend ever so I didn't have my reviews ready like I was supposed to....I know slacking already. =(

But late tonight (after work) I'm going to post 3 reviews for:

 

 Then for Thursday and Friday I'm going to have a review for Paranormalcy by Kiersten White and Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting. I'll tweet it once I put up each review. Don't forget to comment for extra entries and if you Tweet about the contest can you place a direct link in the comments so I can see it please. I've also decided that if I reach 100 followers by the end of April I'll add a second place prize.

All of the books that i'm giving will be new finished copies of the book and if I post a review for a book that isn't out yet i'll pre-order the new copy for you if its one that the winner wants.

Books to look forward to reviews for next week are: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton , White Cat by Holly Black, Falling Under by Gwen Hayes,   Firelight by Sophie Jordan and if I can finish it in time then A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford (which i'm super excited about finally reading).

Thanks everybody! Hope your all having a good week!

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Summary (from Goodreads): "Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. 

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love."


I have "Amor Deliria Nervosa"! Delirium was amazing and by far one of my favorite books i've read so far this year. The blurb on the back of the book was all I needed to convince me to read it and from there I was hooked. Lauren Oliver gave this story such a beautiful voice and I couldn't put the book down. My favorite character was Alex he brings this story and Lena to life.  Her dystopian world is so well thought out. All of the diseases that once were thought to be the cause of death and illness were all shown to actually be caused by Delirium Nervosa. The government controls everything and once the citizens have had the cure they don't seem to care or want to object to anything. Lena believe's one hundred percent that the cure is the best thing that could happen to her because she didn't want to suffer the same way that her mother did before she died. However when Alex enters her life all of this starts to change once she realizes what she would be missing if she got the cure. Alex is my favorite character he helps to bring Lena and this book to life. Delirium kept me guessing until the end which I love in books. Oliver had so many twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and the end was the most shocking of all. I actually wasn't a fan of the ending but i'm really excited about the next book and can't wait to see what happens next.  


  Lauren Oliver also has another book Before I Fall which I've heard a lot of good things about so i'm hoping to read that some time soon. You can check out her Website to read the first chapter of Delirium.  I would suggest this book to someone who enjoyed Wither by Lauren Destefano


My Rating:

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Summary (from Goodreads) : Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Darkness Becomes Her is the first in Kelly Keaton's God's and Monsters series and what a way to start off a series.  The story is fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, so much so that I didn't put it down until I had finished it. There was lots of action and I loved Ari's character she is so strong and badass. The New 2 setting is amazing. I love the way Kelly Keaton was able to describe every aspect of it and make the story really come alive. I can't wait for the next book! Hopefully I don't have to wait too long. =)


My Rating: 

Don't forget to comment for entries. 

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Summary (from Goodreads): 
What if you knew exactly when you would die? 

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. 

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home. 

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left. 


The world and characters that Lauren DeStefano has created in her debut novel is breathtakingly amazing.  She is the author that can really make you think. There were times in the story where I wondered who's side I was truly on. The characters were all amazing. Rhine was so strong and knew what she wanted and didn't stop until she found a way to make it happen. Lauren DeStefano was able to describe each character in a way that made you really connect with them. I can't wait for the next book in this trilogy. Today is the release day of Wither so everyone should go out and buy it now!The bookstore has this display for it which is beyond amazing and if I hadn't already had the book to read it would have made me want to read it even more.

My Rating: 

Please Comment and Tell me what you think about the book if you've read it! 

 

First Blog Post and Announcement of Contest!

Hiya,

My name is Elaina. I used to blog a few years ago doing mostly YA book reviews but sadly school and work took me away from doing that.  However now I’m able to join the awesome world of blogging again. I mostly read YA books but sometimes venture into other genres like paranormal romance, urban fiction, etc. To promote my new blog I’m going to start off with a contest as a way to hopefully help spread the word about my blog.

The Contest:

As of right now I’m giving one prize pack away but I may give a second and third place prize if I get enough followers. The contest will run from today until 11:59pm on April 30^th. The prize pack:

·         Winners choice of two books that I review.

·         A $15 gift card to Amazon, Barnes and Nobles or Books-A-Million…winners choice.

·         A book journal…which is super awesome

·         And a book prize pack isn’t complete without bookmarks.

How to Enter the Contest:

-1+ for following my blog

-1+ for following me on twitter

-1+ for tweeting about the contest

-1+ for every review that you comment on.

I will post about 3 to 4 book reviews a week so there will be a lot of chances to enter to win. Contest only open to US residents.

Edited: I've decided to open the contest up to Canada as well! So US and Canadian followers have a chance to win!
 In the future I plan on doing some International Giveaways I just can't afford to right now. 

Red Glove from Bestselling Author Holly Black