Showcase Sunday (10)

 

 Hosted by the lovely Books, Biscuits and Tea, the aim of Showcase Sunday is to highlight our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto e-readers each week. 

 

 

Bought: 

~ Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally - I read this already last year but I bought the papertback since I only got it for ebook review.

For Review: 

~ The Diviners by Libba Bray - thank you so much to Atom Publishing

~ Defiance by Libba Bray - thanks to Atom Publishing 

~ Wolf Pact by Melissa De La Cruz - thanks AGAIN to Atom Publishing :) 

 

 

~ Demons of the Sun by Cindi Madsen - thank you SO much to author Cindi Madsen for this!

~ Wife For Hire by   - thank you to Entangled Publishing! :) 

Netgalley: 

~ Speechless by Hannah Harrington 

~ Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

~ Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant

~ Rudy Redfort: Look into My Eyes by Lauren Child

 

Swag: 

 

~ Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker BOOKMARKS - thank you to author Miranda Keneally  

 

Waiting On Wednesday (23)

GRAVITY by Melissa West

October 16th 2012

~ Entangled Publishing ~

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war..

Add to Goodreads

YES. I've been dying since forever to read this. I really want this book now *hint hint*. ;) Also, sci-fi is fast becoming one of my favourite genres. And from the teasers that Melissa already released, it's going to be so amazing! And I can't wait to meet Jackson - sounds like my kinda guy! And, did I mention that it's by Entangled Teen, my favourite publisher? Yep. :) 

Cover Thoughts: I love this cover! I'm really glad they chose this and not some models like every book out there. The font is gorgeous and need I say more about this tagline? One of the best. And I love that it screams sci-fi to me and that you can clearly see what it's about without giving away tooooooo much.

So, I now want to know about YOU. What are you waiting for this week? :)

Do You Believe in Voodoo? Blog Tour - Review of A Bad Day for Voodoo

Title: A Bad Day for Voodoo

Author: Jeff Strand

Genre: Young Adult

Release Date: August 7th 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire 

Pages: 252

Source: For Review and Blog Tour

When your best friend is just a tiny bit psychotic, you should never actually believe him when he says, "Trust me. This is gonna be awesome."

Of course, you probably wouldn't believe a voodoo doll could work either. Or that it could cause someone's leg to blow clean off with one quick prick. But I've seen it. It can happen.

And when there's suddenly a doll of YOU floating around out there—a doll that could be snatched by a Rottweiler and torn to shreds, or a gang of thugs ready to torch it, or any random family of cannibals (really, do you need the danger here spelled out for you?)—well, you know that's just gonna be a really bad day ....

This book was very surprising. I didn't expect to like it at all. Normally I like my books heavy with romance, but even without that here, I still enjoyed this. 

It's unlike every other Young Adult book out there. So if you're looking for something SO different, you look no further than Jeff Strand's A BAD DAY FOR VOODOO.

The characters were all very realistic (as they do exactly what teenagers do and say) and not to mention likable. Even though sometimes you want to smack them upside the head for doing things quite immature and selfish. 

This book is about voodoos (obviously). And it's all very interesting since I haven't read a book about them before. All I can say is that when before I would love to have a voodoo doll and do some voodoo magic on my enemies (God knows I've got A lot of 'em!), but after reading the book, well not so much. 

If you're looking for a fun and unique read, I suggest picking up A BAD DAY FOR VOODOO.

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Conjure (The Hoodoo Apprentice #1) - Lea Nolan

CONJURE (The Hoodoo Apprentice #1) by Lea Nolan 

About CONJURE: Be careful what you search for…

Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in the South Carolina Lowcountry--hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush, Cooper Beaumont, and Emma’s ever-present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with the wicked flesh-eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper’s soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.

When a strange girl appears, bent on revenge; demon dogs become a threat; and Jack turns into a walking skeleton; Emma has no choice but to learn hoodoo magic to undo the hex, all before summer—and her friends--are lost forever.

 Doesn't this book sounds awesome?!?! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover, I can't even begin to describe! What first drew me in was the font! I love! And then the colours! Very dark and mysterious! And OMG the tagline - Be careful what you search for! - makes people want to find out more about this book. AND this will be published by my favourite publisher Entangled on 4th September this year. CAN NOT WAIT. Hope I'll get to review this too! :) 

CONJURE on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13425130-conjure

Lea's website: http://www.leanolan.com/ 

Lea on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lea_Nolan

So what do you guys think of this cover? Do you love it like I do, or are you disappointed? And do you think you'll read the book once it comes out? :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Authors Are Rockstars Tour - JA Souders (Renegade)

Hi guys! This is the amazing Authors Are Rockstars blog tour hosted by Two Chicks on Books and Fiktshun. My rockstar author is none other than JA Souders. Her book RENEGADE, the first book of The Elysium Chronicles, is coming out this November 13th. So mark your calendars coz her book looks freaking awesome, right?! Anyway, she's my rockstar not only because she's been blessed by the cover gods (Renegade's cover is one of my faves) but because she's one of the sweetest authors EVER. And I can't wait to read her book, hehe.

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Guest Post by author JA SOUDERS: 

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF EVELYN WINTERS

10:00 AM (precisely): The Maids wake me. And I do mean precisely. Do they just stand outside my door until the clock dongs ten times? Or are they doing something else, then rush to get me up?

11:00 AM (precisely—again): Breakfast. It’s always the same thing. A slice of toast w/ a tiny bit of soy butter. Strawberries. Hot tea sweetened with honey. Would it kill them to give me something a bit more substantive? Err…never mind that. Strawberries and toast is fine…I suppose I should go over my agenda for the day and find out what Mother has planned for me, but I just really want to go to my gardens.

11:15 AM(or so. No precisely here!) Work in my gardens.  The roses are beautiful this morning. I should cut some and have the Maids place them in Mother’s sitting room. The hyacinth needs some trimming, but Mother has a busy day planned for me. And she just added three more things to my list.  Requests in the Request room.A visit to the Girls’ School.A visit with the Dressmaker to see her new designs.Then lessons with Mother.I’ll have to get to it tomorrow. If Mother allows.

11:46 AM My friend Timothy found another Surface object and brought it to me.  I’m not sure what it is.  It’s round and made of metal and looks like a watch or clock, but there’s liquid inside of it and while there are numbers, they’re small and hard to see. But there are letters. N, S, E, W.  I wonder what they mean. I’d better hide this and see if I can find out.

11:50 AM:The Guards are here to escort me to my psychiatrist.Blast! I’ll have to do that research later.  I really dislike Dr. Friar. He makes me uncomfortable, but it really is nice to have someone to talk to with.

4:23 PM: Wake from nap with a pounding headache. Actually, my whole body aches. I wonder if I’m coming down with something. I hope not. That means I’ll have to go into quarantine and undergo testing to find out why my nanos aren’t working. 

4:30 PM: Oh no! I was supposed to be doing something…wasn’t I? Blast! I’ll have to check my agenda. Why am I always doing this? Mother will scold me again for sure…oh! Free day. Nice! But I thought for sure I had something to do…Oh well, I guess I’ll just do some cross-stitching. Idle hands lead to an idle mind.

5:57 PM: Feeling better. But the Maids will be here soon to call me for dinner. I’d better start getting dressed. Hmm. Should I chose the blue chiffon or the purple silk?  Wait…what’s this?  I find a round, metal object in my pocket. It looks like one of Father’s pocket watches, but there’s letters. N, S, E, W.  I wonder what they mean.

7:00 PM: Dinner with Mother. Father is gone again. I wonder where he goes when he’s not here. Mother doesn’t seem too happy that he’s skipping dinner again, but she asks how I enjoyed my free day. I can’t tell her I slept away most of it, so I just smile and tell her I enjoyed it immensely, but I prefer my busier days. She seems happy with the answer.

9:00 PM: Quiet relaxation time. I’ll use it to find out what the strange object is.

11:00 PM: It seems the object is a compass. Surface Dwellers used to use it to navigate around whenever they got lost. How wonderful! But now it’s time to get ready for bed. Despite my nap, I’m extremely exhausted. Besides, I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’ll be meeting with the Dressmaker to see the new designs.

Wow! Wasn't that great or what!?! Makes me wish it was November already! :) Don't forget to add it to Goodreads!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JA Souders-J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble.

Because she never grew up, she decided she’d put her imaginary friends to work and started writing. She now lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, SFWA, YARWA and SCBWI.

She is represented by Natalie Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency and her debut novel, RENEGADE, will be released Fall 2012. Twitter - Goodreads - Site

Showcase Sunday (9)

 

 Hosted by the lovely Books, Biscuits and Tea, the aim of Showcase Sunday is to highlight our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto e-readers each week.

Bought: 

~ Adorkable by Sarra Manning 

~ The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent

~ The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long  

For Review: 

~ Dante's Girl by Courtney Cole

~ Poser by Marley Gibson

~ Refuge by Carole Rummage 

~ Demons by Heather Frost 

~ Undeadly by Michele Vail  

Swags: 

~ My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century swag pack (includes 4 trading cards, 1 *signed* bookplate, 2 pear tattoos, and 2 bookmarks) - thank you so much to author Rachel Harris! I'm in love with the pear tattoos (which the main character actually have on her hip) and the trading cards. Lorenzo = yum! ;) 

~ TeamDaemonFTW bookmark - thank you to Valerie from Stuck in Books. I won this! :) 

~ Skylark postcard *signed* - thank you to author Maegan Spooner 

So, that's it for me this week! Let me know what books you got, guys! :)

Discussion Day (2): Let's talk about sequels!

 :: Second of my Discussion Day posts. Where every month, I will have a different book related topic. Go to my ARCHIVE page for past DD posts.This month we are talking about: SEQUELS. Next month: YOUR BOOKSHELF GENRES. ::

WHAT SEQUELS SHOULD BE and SHOULDN'T BE LIKE (ACCORDING TO ME):

~ THIS IS ONLY MY RAMBLINGS, PEOPLE. NOT SERIOUS AT ALL :P ~

1. Move it, bitch! 

They should move the story forward. Sadly, a lot of sequels I've read only slows the story down. Nothing happens. Nothing gets solved. Blah blah blah.

2. Gimme the next book. NOW.

They should make me want to read the third book. I'm looking at you, Onyx. Or if it's only a tw0-book thing, it should make me feel VERY satisfied about the ending. Whether it's a HEA or not. (Though I do hope it is).

3. Wait, that happened before!

They shouldn't be the same as the first.  This is self-explanatory. You wouldn't want to read a sequel that makes you think 'isn't this what happened in the first book?' Forgive me but that was exactly what happened while reading Die For Me's sequel, Until I Die. If you tell me to say which scene is from which book, I could hardly say. Everything was just the same. Except for the ending.

4. Oh, I remember why I loved this! 

Sequels should make me remember why I fell in love with the start of the series. There are some books where getting to read them was like hanging out with friends. Very familiar and never boring. Like for example, with Obsidian, Katy and Daemon bicker and fight like crazy. They still do that in Onyx. Like with the pen poking. And the kissing. Basically, Onyx <--- a perfect example of a perfect sequel.

5. This is a book. Not a fucking bridge.

They shouldn't only as the bridge between the first and the third book. The sequels that I loved and enjoyed are those that have their own story. Their own plot. They're not just there because they are. I've read a lot of sequels when you finish them and think: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED? Nothing actually happened in this book. It didn't move the plot along, the characters didn't improve/develop. Also, why make it into 3 books, when you can fit it into 2? Doesn't make any sense.

6. For God's sake, Why did I read the first book?

They shouldn't make me regret reading the first book. Unfortunately this has happened to me multiple times now. When characters make super dumb choices or when the author takes the story to somewhere I'm not a fan of (which they totally could, since it's their story and all but). It makes me want to cry.

7. OKAY! I get it! Yawn.

Don't give us a loooonnnggg explanation of what happened in the first. I get that it's sometimes useful (especially whens most sequels releases a year after) when you forgot bits of the story, but please don't give us paragraphs after paragraphs of what happened. This is only slowing the pace and story down.

8. I loved you before, now I just want to slap you.
This. This just breaks my heart. To fall in love with characters at the start of the series, but in the middle, you just can't bloody stand them. I'm talking about disastrous character developments. But I'm mostly talking about Calla from Nightshade and Saba from Blood Red Road. I adored these two amazing protagonists at the start. Then in the sequel, they both do something SO stupid (ARRRGHH!) that just makes me want to slap them both. By the end of Bloodrose (Calla), and end of Rebel Heart (Saba), they're nothing but cheap, brainless shit.

9. Where's my answers?!?
You all know this. You get to the end of the first book, then realizing that you have a lot of questions unanswered. And you were hoping that it will be covered in the sequel. THEN. You read the sequel and BAM! No answers, just more questions. Please. Don't do this. God, just NOOO.

 SEQUELS THAT I DID LOVE:
~ Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Lux #2) *favourite book ever so far!
~ Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Covenant #2) * I just love JLA!
~ Clockwork Prince by Cassie Clare (ID #2)
~ The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines #2)
~ Hallowed by Cynthia Hand (Unearthly #2)
~ Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games #2)
~ Frostbite by Richelle Mead (VA #2)
~ Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry #2)

SEQUELS THAT MADE ME WANT TO RIP MY HAIR OUT

~ Rebel Heart by Moira Young (Blood Red Road #2) *regret reading this series
~ Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (Nightshade #2) *need I say more?
~ Fever by Lauren DeStefano (Chemical Garden #2) *OMFG. Kill me now.
~ Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush Hush #2) *while I love this series, this was just grr
~ Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #2) * fell out of love with Four umm Tobias.
~ New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight #2) *let's face it. You can cut of New Moon and it still wouldn't change anything of the series.Fucking pointless.

~ Until I Die by Amy Plum (Die For Me #2) * I was bored to death

~ My Soul To Save by Rachel Vincent (Soul Screamers #2) * a case of I loved you before, now I want to slap all of you

There's SO much more that I kinda want to include (in both lists) but that would take me FOREVER. So yeah...

Anyway guys, I think that's it. But I would really like to know, what do YOU consider as a good sequel? And what makes a disappointing one? Do you agree with me on the list, and what other sequels did you love/hated?

Jana

Review: Cursed - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Cursed

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release Date: September 18th 2012

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Pages: 312

Source: ARC (provided by the publisher - thank you!!!)

Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she’s willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't?

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

When I got an ARC of Cursed and Deity (Covenant #3), I thought my life was complete. I mean come on, it's JLA we're talking about. Anything she writes is bound to be freaking amazing right? Yes and yes. I can't wait to post my review of Deity (will post in Nov) so I can pretty much gush about it. But anyway, when I found out about Cursed and read the summary, I was hooked. Girl's touch kills and a no touch policy with boys? Yes please. 

After finishing CURSED, I'll be truly honest and say that this is my least favourite book of her's.Which isn't really all that bad, since the Lux and Covenant series are my all-time faves ever. And I really enjoyed reading this (hence the 4 stars rating). I just thought something was missing. Hmm, maybe Daemon? LOL I love Hayden, but anyone who knows me pretty much knows I love me bad boys. And Hayden is pretty much a good boy.

Ember was another one of Jen's female characters that I love. Ember was very likeable, a sympathetic character and one that you'd want to be friends with. I felt very sorry for her just by thinking of what she went through. On the other hand, I'm kinda glad that this 'accident' happened because I don't think I like the Ember before. Her little sister Olivia annoyed me in the beginning and made me so happy that I don't have a sister. But throughout the book,  I learned to love her as well. She was a sweetie. The other characters were also brilliantly fleshed out and I found myself enjoying the scenes with them. Even though I wanted to slap some of them, too. I'm looking at you, Phoebe.

The romance is one that I obviously have to mention. Given that this is Jen's book, obviously we can expect some very hot sexy swoony scenes between our two main leads. And she doesn't disappoint. I loved how even though Ember and Hayden couldn't touch, they still have a very sizzling chemistry. At times it was very sweet and innocent, and at others OMG I had to fan myself. 

The plot may be one that is fairly on trend right now in YA (girl's touch kills, x-men stuff going on etc.), but Jennifer still manages to make it entirely her own. I think she can make ANYTHING original and fun. I also loved the mystery aspect too, and it was one of the factors why I couldn't put this book down. I don't think I need to say anything about her writing. WE ALL KNOW HOW GOOD JEN IS, RIGHT? Especially her writing and her swoony scenes. Sigh.

The part that really let me down was the fact that I knew who the bad guy was the moment they stepped on the page. And I was so annoyed at Ember for not figuring it out. He practically had VILLAIN and creepy stalker tattooed on his damn forehead. Tsk tsk. 

This is just a stand-alone for now, but Jen said that might change. I REALLY want this to be a series. I'll definitely read the sequel, and I think in that way, I'll appreciate the story and the characters a whole lot more. Overall, CURSED is highly recommended if you're a JLA fan. Which I know you ALL are :P

Thank you so so much to Spencer Hill Press for sending me an ARC of Cursed and Deity (Covenant #3) I love you.

Waiting On Wednesday (22) - Perfection by J.L Spelbring

PERFECTION by J.L SPELBRING

May 7th 2013

~ Spencer Hill Press ~

The personification of Aryan purity, Ellyssa's spent her whole life under her creator's strict training and guidance; her purpose is to eradicate inferior beings. She was genetically engineered to be the perfect soldier: strong, intelligent, unemotional, and telepathic.

Only Ellyssa isn't perfect.

Ellyssa feels emotions--a fact she's spent her life concealing. Until she encounters the epitome of inferiority: a dark-haired boy raised among renegades hiding since the Nazis won the war a century ago. He speaks to her telepathically, pushing thoughts into her mind, despite the impossibility of such a substandard person having psychic abilities.

But he does.

His unspoken words and visions of a place she's never visited make Ellyssa question her creator. Confused and afraid her secret will be discovered, Ellyssa runs away, embarking on a journey where she discovers there is more to her than perfection.

Add to Goodreads

Wow! Another dystopian, but this sounds pretty good! And unique! Imagine the world now if the Nazis won = pretty genius if you ask me! (which makes me wonder why no one has done this yet) And umm she got me at the 'dark haired boy' YES YES YES PLEASE. Gimme this book now!! I don't think I can wait until May '13 to read this baby! (Can I just say that it's published by Spencer Hill Press, so it's bound to be phenomenal ;)

Cover Thoughts: At first glance, I wasn't a fan - it was just a simple face and the title and author's name. I kinda want to kick myself for not noticing the butterfly(?) thingy inside her eye! Unfortunately, that's the only aspect that I like in this cover.

So, what are YOU waiting for this week? And what do you think about PERFECTION?

Blogger Interview: Beverley from A Reading Daydreamer

:: BEVERLEY from A READING DAYDREAMER ::

 

Hi, I’m Beverley!  I'm a 15-year-old British-Chinese girl and live in the UK with my parents and a pesky little chihuahua called Alfie.  Reading has been a life-long hobby for me and I’ve enjoyed it since I was little.  My mum can be thanked for instilling this passion in me: she took me to the library frequently to listen to the storytelling sessions and to borrow books.  One of the reasons for starting this blog was because I didn’t read much at all in 2011 (I don’t think I even got through fifteen books that year!) so I hope it will encourage me to read as much as it encourages others!

 STALK BEVERLEY: Twitter - Goodreads - Blog

:: What do you want to be/do when you grow up?

My main ambition is to become a vet.  I’ve wanted to study vet medicine since I was a young child and it’s been something I’ve really wanted to work towards.  Becoming a vet for real would be a lifelong dream come true!  Most people think it’s because I love animals, which is true, but once I got into secondary school I discovered that I loved all the science subjects too, nerdy huh?  Well maybe Physics is a little boring sometimes :)  I know most book bloggers want to work in the publishing industry or become an author, and I guess that applies to me as well.  Since I was young, I’ve dreamt about being an author and I hope I can have at least one book published.  Maybe I could do that part-time alongside saving animals?  Oh, and maybe I could fit in piano-teaching part-time as well… although recently I’ve been thinking about saving that job for when I retire from saving animals ;)  (Haha, future planning overdrive!)



:: Who is your favourite female lead character?

Ok, so I haven’t read the books but I’m going to have to say Katniss from The Hunger Games.  I went to see the film with some friends and it was beyond awesome.  Katniss is the perfect example of a strong female lead character and she does us girls proud.  I can’t wait to read the books!!!!!



:: Who is your number one book boyfriend?

Ooohhh, that’s a hard one.  I wish I could say someone dark and brooding like Edward Cullen but right now my number one book boyfriend is Ryan from Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt.  He’s a New Age traveller – which I personally think is quite exotic – and he just sounds AMAZING.  He’s so kind and caring and he knows how to make people feel good about themselves.  And he likes to walk around shirtless so he must be quite muscly and tanned, otherwise he wouldn’t be so confident, eh?

And can I say Peeta Mellark from THG as well?  Because he is so damn cute in the film ;)


:: What's your favourite thing about blogging?

My favourite of all favourites would have to be connecting with other people who share the same passion of reading (like yourself!) and realising that I’m not alone… none of my friends really like reading so I have no-one outside blogging to talk to about books (well there is one friend, but her reading tastes are quite different from mine).  I never even knew the book blogging world was so BIG, I keep discovering more and more everyday which just shows just how popular reading is!  I wish I could become ‘real’ friends with all the bloggers who I have ‘met’.  There should be a gathering where we all get to meet up and discuss non-stop about books.  That would be soooo fun!!!!!  But I digress… Oh and getting comments from readers make my day, it feels so amazing when someone says something nice on my posts – there are people out there who bother to read my views and opinions!



 :: The least favourite?

And the least favourite would have to be the TIME it takes to run a blog.  Reading already takes up quite a lot and then running the actual blog is VERY time-consuming.  I didn’t really know what I was letting myself into when I started.  I thought it would be a do-as-you-please task but now I realise that I have to post reviews and other interesting things consistently to keep followers and readers interested.  And that can be hard when you have important exams coming up.  It’s difficult to focus on revision when you’re thinking about that book that’s itching to be read and the blog post that’s itching to be typed.  I so envy the thirteen and fourteen-year-olds who blog, they have it so easy :)



:: Who's your favourite authors?

My most favourite author is Katie Dale who wrote Someone Else’s Life.  Her writing style is just beautiful and I could really immerse myself into her book.  Others include (in no particular order): Jay Asher, Sophie Flack, Sophie McKenzie, Jodi Picoult, Laura Jarratt, Sophia Bennett, Cathy Cassidy, Stephenie Meyer, Jenny Han… the list goes on – I have far too many favourites!



:: What do you do in your spare time?

Ha!  Spare time is actually non-existent now L  Recently, my days seem to be filled with school work and endless revision.  But usually when things aren’t so hectic, I spend most of my spare time reading and blogging (obviously!).  I also play the piano and violin which takes quite a lot of time.  And then if there’s still time left, I’ll spend AGES at the computer reading the wonderful blogs which I follow (yours included!).  I also like playing badminton and going to the cinema with friends – it’s so relaxing!



:: Which books are you really excited to read this year?

I am soooooo looking forward to reading What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang.  The cover is really gorgeous and it sounds very interesting indeed.  I’m uber-excited about getting my hands on We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han – it’s the last book in the series and I’m sure gonna miss Conrad and Jeremiah!  I also NEED to read The Hunger Games trilogy, as I’ve already mentioned.  I’m so behind, even my friends who don’t normally like reading are raving about it!  I feel like I’m missing out big time so they are VERY high on my to-read list.  Oh, and The Selection by Kiera Cass is another book which I really want to read!



:: What was your favourite book you read last year 2011?

I must admit that I didn’t read a lot of books last year – part of the reason why I started A Reading Daydreamer was because I wanted to encourage myself to read and now I’m back on track!  But my favourite from 2011 has to be Sister, Missing by Sophie McKenzie.  It was so thrilling and fast-paced, I just couldn’t put it down!



:: As a reader, which is more important to you, the characters or the plot? (And you can't say both - I know they're both important (duh!) but pick one that you care a lot more about and why)

Characters, definitely!  If I can’t relate to the characters or empathise with them, the whole book is ruined for me, whether the plot is interesting or not.  I’ve come across so many books which sound really intriguing but then they turn out quite disappointing so I’ve had to give up on them.  It’s a real shame because I wish authors could understand that it doesn’t matter how extravagant the plot is, the characters are the most important.  Believable characters who readers can warm to usually form the basis/foundation of the book and without a strong foundation, everything seems to topple over and go wrong.

Thank you so much to Beverley for being here today! You can find her on Twitter or on her blog!

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