In My Mailbox (34)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, and is a way for everyone to show their new books for the week, including those bought, swapped, won, or received for review.

"Sea" by Heidi R. Kling

I won these first two books in an awesome contest from Heather at Buried in Books! These were two of the TOP picks on my wishlist!! Thanks, Heather!


"Prophecy of the Sisters" by Michelle Zink

Also from Heather's contest!


"Burning Up" by Angela Knight, Nalini Singh, Virginia Kantra, Meljean Brook

This one was sent from Meljean Brook, for taking part in the Iron Seas Challenge at vvb32 Reads! Thanks, Meljean and Velvet!

What did you receive in your mailbox this week??

Book Blog Follow Friday August 6

Happy Friday, Everyone!!

It's time for another Book Blog Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee.com!! I've found so many awesome new blogs to read by participating in this fun event! Check it out by clicking the pic!!

If you're visiting for the first time, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and say hi!! :)

While you're here, why not check out the two contests I have running on my blog right now!!?

Win one of 5 Copies of Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt!! Ends 8/17!!

Win a Set of Team Jessica and Team Elizabeth T-shirts for Sweet Valley Confidential!! Ends 8/20!!

Giveaway and Sneak Peek: Sweet Valley Confidential!!

Read the 1st Chapter of "Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later"

and

Enter to win a set of Team Jessica and Team Elizabeth T-shirts!

If you're like me, you remember the Sweet Valley High books, and if you're REALLY like me, you still have a few tattered copies on your keeper shelf :) I know I have held onto my favorites and/or scoured thrift shops to replace my old copies.

We Sweet Valley fans are in luck because author/creator Francine Pascal is working on a brand new adult women's fiction book from St. Martin's Press: "Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later." And we're invited to take a sneak peek at the 1st chapter!!

From the press release: Is Liz a hot young journalist engaged to pro-basketball player Todd Wilkins and planning the sweetest backyard wedding? Is Jess gracing the covers of international fashion magazines and breaking the hearts of wealthy jet-setters? After the perfect childhoods, how will the real world affect the lives of the Wakefield Twins? We'll find out soon enough.

How will we wait for the book to be released in March, 2011??

First, check out the first chapter of the book here: http://www.sweetvalleytenyearslater.com/

And how about a contest for an awesomely retro set of Team Elizabeth and Team Jessica t-shirts to hold us over while we wait!!

GIVEAWAY RULES:

Lori at getredpr has generously provided a set of tees for readers of my blog!

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this post with your email address!

Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy.

Extra Entries:

• +2 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
  
• +2 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)
• +2 Tell me one of your SVH memories even if it's just about having a crush on one of Jessica's many boyfriends :)
  

Rules:

• US and Canada only
  
• No PO Boxes please
  
• Must be a follower to enter
  
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
  
• Leave a comment with your email address
• T-shirts will be mailed out by the sponsor
  
• Ends Friday August 20
  

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

Waiting on Wednesday (31)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine, and it is a way to show off the books you can't wait to be released!!

This week I chose:

"Another Pan"
by Daniel Nayeri and Dina Nayeri
Candlewick Press
Release Date: October 26, 2011

The following description is from goodreads.com

Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling and her insecure freshman brother, John, are hitting the books at the Marlowe School. But one tome consumes their atten...more Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling and her insecure freshman brother, John, are hitting the books at the Marlowe School. But one tome consumes their attention: THE BOOK OF GATES, a coveted Egyptian artifact that their professor father believes has magical powers. Soon Wendy and John discover that the legend is real—when they recite from its pages and descend into a snaking realm beneath the Manhattan school. As the hallways darken, and dead moths cake the floor, a charismatic new R.A. named Peter reveals that their actions have unleashed a terrible consequence: the underworld and all its evil is now seeping into Marlowe. Daniel Nayeri and Dina Nayeri return to reimagine Peter Pan as a twisty, atmospheric, and fast-paced fantasy about the perils of immortality.

WoW indeed!! Words cannot express how much I need to read this book!! Peter Pan is my absolute favorite classic children's story and I'm so excited to see it remade into a YA fantasy book!! I can't wait!!

What are you waiting on this week??

Teaser Tuesday

I thought it would be fun to participate in a different meme this week, so I picked "Teaser Tuesday" from MizB of Should be Reading.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser Tuesday pick:

"She was the goldsmith to the queen, not some simpering milkmaid. She could get past her pain and fear and do this."

p. 88 "Captured by Desire" by Kira Morgan

Review and Giveaway! "Wicked Intentions"

As part of the "Wicked Intentions" blog tour, I have my review and a giveaway of 5 copies of the book, sponsored by Hachette!

"Wicked Intentions"
by Elizabeth Hoyt

Source: provided for review by Hachette Books

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Temperance Dews runs a home for orphans with her brother in a bad part of London, St. Giles. One dangerous night, as she rescues an infant from a terrible fate, she's followed home by an infamous aristocrat, Lazarus, Lord Caire. He makes a proposition to her-since Temperance knows her way around St. Giles, she can guide him through the area to find his mistress' murderer. In exchange, he will take her to society events to find a much needed patron for the children's home. They both discover much more than what they set out to find-in each other.

Lazarus couldn't stand for anyone to touch his skin and always kept everyone at arm's length, even the mistress whose killer he sought. Temperance had her own baggage, she couldn't forgive herself for a past sin and insisted on punishing herself throughout life. The characters were so complex and I enjoyed watching them grow throughout the book.

Lord Caire wasn't your typical romance hero . With his long, silver hair, and intimidating presence, I couldn't help but be reminded of Lucius Malfoy (Draco's dad). He wasn't really attractive to me, but that helped me to see that he was attractive to Temperance and he was right for her.

I liked how the differences in class between Temperance and Lazarus wasn't talked about over and over and it actually wasn't seen as one of the many obstacles to their being together. It was refreshing not to have the characters worrying about society approving or not. The class differences were there but it wasn't seen as an obstacle.

There was a full cast of supporting characters that I hope to see in the next books in this series! Temperance's large family, the outspoken Lady Hero, and the Ghost of St. Giles-who always popped up just in tame to help save the day.

Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5 (oooh, dark and gothic London!)
Romance: 4/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5

Bottom Line:This was a great historical romance that really shows how much depth and heart that stories in this genre can have. Elizabeth Hoyt is an author who continues to succeed in stepping outside of the boundaries.

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Hachette books has generously provided FIVE copies of this historical romance for readers of my blog!

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address!

Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy.

Extra Entries:

• +2 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
  
• +2 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)
  

Rules:

• US and Canada only
  
• No PO Boxes please
  
• Must be a follower to enter
  
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
  
• Leave a comment with your email address
• Books will be mailed out by Hachette
  
• Ends Tuesday August 17
  

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

"One Season of Sunshine" Review

"One Season of Sunshine"
by Julia London

Source: sent by publisher in exchange for review

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Jane Aaron left her adoptive family behind in order to find her birth mother. Jobs are scarce in her new town, so she takes a position as a nanny to two children who have run off anyone else who dared attempt the job. Jane butts heads with their father, Asher Price-mostly over the fact that he's not around much due to work. While at the Price's, Jane discovers secrets not only about her birth mother, but also about Asher's deceased wife-who may not be as perfect as she seems.

This was an enjoyable summer read. Nothing too heavy here. i'd recommend it to someone who loves a romance that involves family. It's a story we've seen before in The Sound of Music-rich dad who's wife passed away falls for his children's nanny and so do his kids.

There was a lot going on in this one. I really didn't care for the birth mother storyline. Jane had such a great, loving adoptive family, I didn't really understand why she would leave everything behind to obsessively look for her birth mother. I also felt like her old relationship was unneccessary and ended to easily.

I liked Asher's children a lot and Asher himself was an admirable character. Especially for standing by his first wife even through the worst of her mental illness.


Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 2/5 (Asher's daughter is a teenager and she doesn't look like the girl on the cover)
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: I enjoyed this book and probably liked it better than the historical romances I've read by this author (crazy, since I'm such a HR addict!).