{Waiting on Wednesday} 2: After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E Wedel

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 After Obsession

Authors: Carrie Jones and Steven E Wedel

 Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.

Filled with heart-pounding romance, paranormal activity, and rich teen characters to love-and introducing an exciting new YA voice, Steven Wedel-this novel is exactly what Carrie Jones fans have been waiting for. Meet your next obsession.

 I really, really loved the Need series and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of this!

{Review} Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Release Date: 1 February 2011

Publisher: HaperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Soft Cover

Pages: 448

Author: Lauren Oliver

Buy the Book:   Amazon

 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 government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway 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 really did love this book and this book has made me fall even more in love with dystopian novels. This book was simply beautifully exquisite and had me hooked to the point of no return. Oliver has not failed to impress me with this emotional roller coaster ride of a novel.

I really loved the concept of this book and thought that it was well applied. Lena and all the characters seem exceptionally well written and realistically believable. I really liked how the reader really gets a taste of Lena’s emotions and how she changes throughout the book.

Oliver has me wanting more with this book and has made me decide to try and buy Before I Fall, her writing is simply astounding and beautiful in all the ways you can imagine.

Again back to the concept, I really liked this idea and how it translates in to the words on the pages, which seem to flow magically and wonderfully as you are totally absorbed by this story. This is a great book and I recommend that you all read it.

Could you imagine a world where you were cured of love? Would you fight it or enjoy free of something that could cause your heart to break?  

{In My Mailbox} 5

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at: The Story Siren. You can find official information like how to participate, why it was started and other goodies about IMM on the IMM Page

 In My Mailbox this week: 

Legacy by Cayla Kluver:

Amazon | Goodreads

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz:

Amazon | Goodreads

And then I would like to thank Brend Pandos for the awesome swag I recieved which looks just like this:

What did you receive in your mailbox this week? Post a link in the comments below and I will be sure to take a look at your IMM post.

{Reaction Fraction} 1 Elanor Lawrence

Reaction Fraction is a segment that I will be having either weekly or monthly on my blog. The segment shows either an author or blogger's reaction to something. This will show what emotions they felt and what thought were running through their head's at the time. 

This week I will be having Elanor Lawrence, my dear friend for Reaction Fraction. I recommend that  you all follow her great blog! (Click the image below to be redirected o her site)

Q: What was it like to win the Hereafter Writing Challenge on inkpop and receive four free books?

 Elanor's Reaction:

I felt really flattered and excited. This was the first inkpop challenge I had ever won (though I've won books through inkpop before in other ways) and I was happy that it was one actually chosen by the author based on merit rather than selected randomly. The story that I entered was actually a scene from chapter 10 of my WIP, THE WEB, so it was really encouraging to find that author Tara Hudson liked that scene even in its virtually unedited state. I've had positive feedback from a couple friends, but it was wonderful to receive this kind of confirmation early on from a published author. And, of course, winning four free books was awesome. I won Tara Hudson's Hereafter, the book the challenge was based on, and I felt pretty cool because I got it before the official release date. I also chose Divergent (which I read in a day and is now one of my new favourites) and Delirium and Entwined. I absolutely love new hardcover books but I don't have enough money to just go out and buy them, so inkpop challenges are a great way to get free books and stretch my writing talent at the same time!

 Would you like to be featured in my next Reaction Fraction? Have any questions you would like me to ask? Email me on blabbing-books@hotmail.co.za

{Follow Friday} 4

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by ParaJunkee – helping bloggers get out there and meet new bloggers!

Q. In light of the Summer Solstice. Also known as Midsummer...let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?

I love the Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr, it is a wonderful world that will hold you captive for much longer than need be, but you will love the feeling! I recommend it to you all! 

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - http://imabookshark.blogspot.com/
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. LINKY TOOLS IS BACK! I paid for the subscription - finally so now you can add the links to your own post!!! To add the code to your own post click on GET THE CODE here under the list of names.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog! 

Happy Follow Friday!

{Exclusive Cover Reveal} Everblue by Brenda Pandos

Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them. 

Ashlyn is about to discover what she’d thought to be true her whole life, wasn’t, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever.

Everblue, book #1 of Mer Tales

Publisher: Obsidian Mountain Publishing

Tentative Release Date: 7/31/2011

Follow Brenda on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Pandos-Author/147707291958883

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11700785-everblue

Twitter: @brendapandos

Blog: brendapandos.blogspot.com

Want to know more?

Check out Brenda’s blog at: http://brendapandos.blogspot.com

{In My Mailbox} 4

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at: The Story Siren. You can find official information like how to participate, why it was started and other goodies about IMM on the IMM Page

In My Mailbox this week: 

Hereafter by Tara Hudson:
Amazon | Goodreads
Ultraviolet by R J Anderson:
Amazon | Goodreads
Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen:
Amazon | Goodreads
Misfit by Jon Skovron:
Amazon | Goodreads
Deviant by Adrian McKinty:
Amazon | Goodreads
The Poisoned House by Michael Ford:
Amazon | Goodreads

 Delirium by Lauren Oliver:
Amazon | Goodreads
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare:
Amazon | Goodreads
Abandon by Meg Cabot:
Amazon | Goodreads
Across the Universe by Beth Revis:
Amazon | Goodreads
The Twilight Saga the Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer:
Amazon | Goodreads

What did you receive in your mailbox this week?  

{Book Trailer} Hourglass by Myra McEntire

This is a book that I cannot wait to get my hands on and I just wanted to share the trailer with you. What book is this that I am talking about you may ask...well it is nothing less than HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire!

 

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

{Review} The Strange Case of Finely Jane by Kady Cross

Release Date: 1 May 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Kindle Edition
Pages: Unknown
Author: Kady Cross
Buy the Book: Amazon

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…

My Thoughts:

 

This was a great way for me to experience more Steampunk and I loved this story oh so much. I really enjoy stories like this where you get glimpses of the characters outside of the book.

The writing style was great and made this story more addictive than it already was. Cross wrote it in such a way that it was the perfect Steampunk with and edge of our modern day world to it. This may just be my mind acting up but that is what I felt, don’t ask why, maybe I am just crazy but I really did love this story.

I cannot wait to read The Girls in the Steel Corset, if you are procrastinating on whether or not to read it then read The Strange Case of Finely Jane before anything and I am almost certain that you will fall in love with this story and its wondrous world.

The first steampunk that I had read was Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel and let me tell you that I am pretty sure that Cassandra Clare will be darned proud to see such excellent Steampunk such as her own.

This is an addictive little story that will not take too long to read and you will not be sorry if you read this, it will take you at least an hour to read and you can enjoy it all the same. Great work Kady Cross, on a short story that I loved to bits!