Waiting on Wednesday: Challenger Deep

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  

  This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is Challenger Deep. 

Challenger Deep

by Neal Shusterman
Publication date: April 21st, 2015

From Goodreads:

Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.

Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.

Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence, to document the journey with images.

Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.

Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.

Caden Bosch is torn.

A captivating and powerful novel that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by one of today's most admired writers for teens.

November's #JLBgivesawayaDVD: The Princess Bride

I was going to give this away back in September, but it got a little crazy with OTH's release, and then, well, last month was my birthday bash, so that didn't work, either so here it is finally! YAY! 

I loveThe Princess Bride. Dahlia in the Flora series loves The Princess Bride. My daughters are sicking of me quoting lines from somewhat like The Princess Bride. It's one of those movies you've either seen a thousand times, or haven't seen it at all and can't figure out what the hype is about. And I'll tell you, if you have not seen it before, you must watch it. You must. Ignore the simple/impossible to believe at times cinematography, and just go into it knowing you're going to pay attention to two things:

1) the characters

and 

2) their lines

Yep. That's it. Once you focus on those two things, this movie is gold. Sure, it came out in 1987, but who cares? When a movie that's been out for almost three decades has an awesome Facebook page with over 2 million likes, that's saying something. Right?

I've said so much already, I'm not going to share the trailer (but here it is). Enter for yourself. Enter to give as a Christmas present! Enter to give as an "I love you so much ____, I'm giving this amazing classic to you for nothing. See how special you are to me?" gift. Just enter! :D

And now, the giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

#Giveaways, movies, music and more: this week's writerly news

A reader's life motto

Howdy! HAPPY NOVEMBER! Real quick before I forget, the #JLBbirthdaybash ends tomorrow, so if you're wanting to increase your chances of winning the Carpe Read 'Em mug and notebooks and such, don't forget to click the giveaway in the sidebar!


Well, after a couple of Fridays off, I'm back! *passes out mugs of steaming hot coffee* Between doing The Princess Bride for the #JLBgivesawayaDVD (it'll be up Monday), the LOOP giveaway, the Goodreads OPEN THY HEART giveaway, the awesome WoWs coming up (did you see Wednesday's???) and other stuff, I'd say November is going to be a great month! :D

And now for the most recent happenings on my end...

1) It's official... I will be having two women's fic books coming out early next year. I'm very excited. They will have a very different look compared to the YA ones, but I'm quite happy with the results, and can't wait to put them up on Goodreads. *does little dance*

One for you, one for me! :D Aren't they
SO PRETTY next to my owl bookends?

2) If you tried to enter the LOOP giveaway and had issues with the free entry, I fixed it. Had something wonky in my setup, but now all's well--you just have to answer a question so that Rafflecopter will let you have the free entry. :)

Yes I did have to do the vinyls photo.
Because. *adds to Christmas list*

3) I'm currently IN LOVE with Sleeping At Last's Yearbook Collection album, and trying to find a way to buy ALL THE SONGS. (The digital album is like $27, that's how many songs there are. But, I mean, really, all of the albums rock. Not just this one.) *stares longingly at vinyls*





4) Mandie, Tabitha, and I are watching Catching Fire in honor of Mockingjay's upcoming release for November's #nerdherdmovienight this Sunday, November 2nd at 6:00 PST. Feel free to watch it along with us on Twitter! 

5) Most recent enjoyable recipe made: these Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes. So simple, yet so yum!

6) I'm sure most of you have seen the Insurgent moving 3D posters by now, but I'd love to know what you think. (I haven't read it, so I'm not really affected in that way.) 


Welp, that's about it! :) Have a blessed weekend everyone, and happy November! 

LOOP review and #giveaway

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future.

"Umm, because you smell like a wad of yummy wrapped in a layer of delicious?" -Bree

Hi, guys! I am so excited to bring LOOP to ya'll today... it was such a great, fun book, with an amusing character and intriguing take on time travel! I was actually given an eARC of this, but didn't realize that it expired by a certain date (boo), so... I had to buy my own version so I could read it in time for this review/giveaway. Which is fine, and totally worth it! (I've actually now ordered a hard copy--that's how much I loved it!) UPDATE: They sent me a hardcover. LOL! My bad! So now that I have an extra... guess I'll have to use it for another giveaway soon! :D

LOOP starts out with Bree being given an assignment to go to a particular place in time. There's a whole other thing going on that you don't fully understand until quite a bit further into the book, but let's just say that she is also trying to sneak in an "off the record" assignment at the same time, to benefit her family. Problem is, pretty much everything goes wrong, which starts a long twist of things getting more funny and wonky and confusing as she learns nothing at all is really as it seems and this might not be the first time she's been at this particular point in time.

I don't want to say much because there are layers to the plot and I might give something away, but I will say that not reading the blurb actually benefitted me a lot, because I had no idea what to expect and that made the read more exciting. 

I also loved Karen's voice. She gave Bree, her best friend, Mimi, and the rest of the characters such great dialogue, and her descriptions were seamless. I'm one of those readers who doesn't always want long descriptive parts when I'm really enjoying a book (get me to the action!), and this fit the bill with perfect laughs, set-ups, and surprises. Another quote:

Finn stared at me like I'd sprouted a third eyeball. He waited until I was done before he sat up and clapped his hands together. Again. And again. "Bravo! Did they serve a helping of brainwashing with the twigs this morning or was it beamed directly into your brain via your microchip?"

See? Those two are hilarious. And now for the fun news...

I've been given one copy of LOOP to give away! YAY! Make sure you come back and enter often, okay? It's worth it! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Add LOOP to Goodreads | Connect with Karen on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumblr

P.S. Karen also has a fun bookplate giveaway going on at her place. You can check it out and enter it HERE. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Illusionarium

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  

  This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is Illusionarium. 

Illusionarium

by Heather Dixon
Publication date: May 19th, 2015

From Goodreads:

From the author of Entwined, a brilliantly conceived adventure through an alternate London. This sweeping, cinematic tale of an apprentice scientist desperate to save his family—and his world—is The Night Circus meets Pixar.

Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that is breathtaking and wholly original.

October's Reader Interview with Kaitlin... part two

Welcome back to day two of October's Reader Interview with Kaitlin from Reading is My Treasure! If you missed part one yesterday, go HERE. Continuing yesterday's questions... 

Name a secondary character you’d love to be friends with in real life:

Ric from Danielle Ellison’s Salt series had a great personality, so I wouldn't mind being friends with him.

Secondary character you’d like to tell a thing or two to:

I’m not really sure if she’s considered a secondary character or not, but Gerald’s sister in Reality Boy by A.S. King was a horrible person. I would like to tell her what a bad sister she was.

Villain you’d love to see in real life (even if just from afar):

I wouldn’t want to see any in real life, but the villain I would be most willing to see would have to be the Duchess of the Lake from The Jewel by Amy Ewing. She probably dresses well.

What is your favorite YA cover of all time? What made it so great?

Jessica . . . that’s such a hard question! There are so many amazing ones and I’m pretty sure my favorite changes at least every other day. That said, The Heir by Kiera Cass is my favorite at this very moment. It is beautiful. It’s definitely my favorite of the series and I just adore it.

Nice choice! It is gorgeous!

Most recent book that made you laugh:

Loop by Karen Akins was a really fun read. That one made me laugh quite a few times!

Name a character you’d never want to be stranded with on a desert island.

I’ll pick someone from a book I recently read: Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles. She is definitely not a friendly character that I’d want to be around. Plus, she would most likely take control of my mind and make me do everything for her. She would be the queen of the island and I would be her own personal slave.

Strangest storyline you’ve read lately, and why:

I read Slaughterhouse-Five earlier this year and it was definitely a strange read, mainly because there was time travel that resulted in jumps from one time to another. There was also a lot of weird things happening in the story, like an alien abduction.

Last, being a book blogger, you’re able to receive a LOT of ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies). Are there any that you’re looking forward to (or really hoping to get your hands on) in the coming months?

Yes. LOTS. You know there are some seriously amazing looking books releasing in 2015, right? I’m looking forward to The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows, None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio , Denton’s Little Deathdate by Lance Rubin, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes, and so many more!

Thanks so much for being here at LMTAS, Kaitlin! :D

Thank you so much for having me! :)



About Kaitlin:  I love books (of course), gorgeous book covers, polished rocks, gemstones, food, lists, and Pepsi. My current obsessions are The Vampire Diaries and Orphan Black. I spend most of my time reading, blogging, tweeting, or just looking at books. I've never been good at introductions. Connect with Kaitlin at Reading is My Treasure | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

October's Reader Interview: Kaitin from Reading is My Treasure

October's reader is Kaitlin from Reading is My Treasure. Hi, Kaitlin! Thanks for being here!

Hi Jessica! I’m glad to be here. :)

Most readers have a specific book/series that they can pinpoint as the book that opened the door to their love for YA. What was yours, and what made it so special?

Mine was The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman! I can’t recall specifically why it opened the door to my love of YA (and reading in general). I just remember loving the characters, world, and story then starting to read more and more books than I had before that point.

You’ve been blogging for a while now. What have you seen change since you started? What’s remained the same?

I feel like not much has changed in the past 16 months I’ve been blogging. The most noticeable thing is the people I interact with in the blogosphere. Most of my regular commenters from early in the year don’t seem like the ones that comment regularly now. My fellow bloggers that I talked to the most back in January are not necessarily the same one that I talk to the most now. The love and excitement for reading in the blogosphere has remained the same, though, no matter who I was interacting with the most.

Name a favorite feature on someone else’s blog:

I love Trending Tuesday on YA Romantics! The posts are always interesting.

Ooh, yes! I love that one, too!

Name your favorite feature at Reading is My Treasure:

My current favorite is a new-ish feature called Q&A Discussion. I answer a question (submitted by one of the blog’s visitors) in a post and turn it into a discussion!

What would be the single most important advice you’d give to readers interested in reviewing and/or blogging about books?

Review and blog the way you want to review and blog. If you blog the way other people say you should blog and don’t do it the way you want to, you would probably not get as much out of it. You would probably not have as much fun either.

Favorite thing about the book blogging community, overall?

The people! Hands down.☺

Agreed!

A while back, one of my daughters left a book too close to the stove, and the spaghetti sauce I was cooking splattered all over it. We wiped the cover down, but to this day, it’s still covered with orange dots. ☹ Have you ever had anything like that happen to a book? If so, was it yours?

I can’t recall doing anything like that to my book, but my friend left one that I lent her (Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, which is really special to me) out in the rain once. It’s by far the most damaged book I own. Despite being wrinkled and water stained, it’s still very much readable (thankfully).

Okay I just checked my library because I knew I had that book, and mine is damaged, too! *sad face*

Do you ever dog-ear your pages?

NO. Just . . . no. (Like in the last question, though, I’ve had friends dog ear my books.)

Ack! I am so sorry!

Have you ever used lines from books in real life situations, and if so, did anyone notice?

That would be cool if I had done that, but I don’t remember quotes that well to do that. :(

Worst book hangover ever?

I got a really bad book hangover after finishing The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas. It was heartbreaking and actually made me very nervous about reading another book because I thought that certain events at the end of the last novella would happen in the other book I was reading.

Favorite female character, and why:

Celaena from the Throne of Glass series is my favorite right now. She is awesome. She’s grown a lot throughout the series so far and has both a lot of strength and many flaws. Plus, she’s an assassin that loves books and nice clothes. I don’t see a lot of assassins dressing up real nice in books because they actually want to and I love how comfortable Celaena is with doing that.

Favorite male character, and why:

Adrian Ivashkov from the Vampire Diaries/Bloodlines series is amazing. He’s funny, flawed, loyal, and so, so sweet. I love him!

Thanks so much for being here, Kaitlin! Come back tomorrow for part two of Kailtin's reader interview. In the meantime, connect with Kaitlin at Reading is My Treasure!