Phantom Universe Book Blog Tour

Published February 15, 2011 by Obsidian Mountain Publishing

Approximately 228 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
ISBN 10: 0982903340
ISBN 13: 9780982903346

Summary: Sold into slavery to pirates at the young age of four, Summer learns to survive the rough seas of subterfuge and thieves through silence. When the boat she’s lived on most of her life is destroyed, Summer finds herself washed up on the shore of a new world, a phantom universe full of the bizarre and extraordinary. She meets Gage, the one boy who understands the girl with no speech. But when their lives are put on the line, will Summer finally call out? Or will all be lost in the fathomless depth of silence?

Phantom Universe (Summer Chronicles, #1) by Laura Kreitzer comes out February 15th! Obsidian Mountain Publishing are hosting a book-blog tour from March 03, 2011 - April 25, 2011. Copies will be printed and sent out before the release date of February 15th. If you are interested, please fill out this form: http://bit.ly/ReviewPU.

For reviewers that can't commit to the tour, e-copies are available for review.

Sunday Confessions January 16, 2011

This is a weekly meme started by Marcie over at To Read or Not To Read as a way to get to share a bit about myself and also learning more about you. Sometimes it's about books and book related topics and sometimes it's not. This is all in good fun and I would love it if you would participate.

Today's Topic:

To Spoil or Not To Spoil.

I had to do this week's post! I cannot, and I mean CANabsolutelyNOT stand spoilers to any extent - besides what's already given to me in the book synopsis. If you jump over to Marcie's blog real quick to read her post, I agree with her when she says that she doesn't read reviews of books that she hasn't read yet. I am exactly the same way. I mean, I'll skim over real quick, but I don't want to catch anything. And like Marcie said, you can only really read a book once. After I read the book, then I'll read other people's reviews to see what they thought of it, but hardly do I ever read them before I read the book myself. One reason being, I don't want any kind of thoughts floating in my mind when I'm reading the book because it has an uncontrollable influence over me, whether I want it to or not. For example, if my nephew's reading a book, he'll ask me, "But can I tell you something?!" My immediate response, "NO!" "But it doesn't really have anything to do with the book!" My answer still remains no because I don't even want to know your feelings about the book until after I read it [Uncontrollable influence]. The second reason being, it might and could possibly ruin the beginning of a book for me. Like if you mention just slightly about something that occurs later on in the book or if you mention someone that appears again later in the book - in a big way - then when I'm starting out the book and I catch that person's name, I kind of already have a clue, or know that they'll be in the book at the end.

Was that too confusing? Anyway, I hope you get my point. I don't like spoilers and I try not to include them in my reviews, and if I think I am then I'll mention that what I'm posting could potentially be spoilery. My sister-in-law and her son (said nephew!) don't understand why I can't stand spoilers. But kind of think of it this way, it's almost kind of like having a vision of how you're going to die then coming back to the present to live life up until you die. A little dramatic, I know! But book wise, it's like flipping to the very last page to see how it ends, then flipping right back to the beginning to continue reading the book anyway.

Okay, I think I droned on long enough! So, now you - to spoil or not to spoil? :)

Top 5 Sundays (3): Favorite Villains vs. Heroes

Top 5 Sundays are hosted by Larissa over at Larissa's Bookish Life where the theme for each Sunday is picked by a poll. Today's theme is

*drum roll*

Favorite Villains vs. Heroes

But first, a little bit about this feature and the rules to join in . . .
Every Sunday Larissa will post a TOP 5 list on her blog. It can be about anything and every week she'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on her left sidebar!} and she'll add Mr. Linky below the post so you can do you post with your list according to the week's theme and then you can add your link to it.

Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme that Larissa chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention Larissa's blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Feel free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it below Larissa's post)
4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to Mr. Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments :)

Melanie Stryder vs. The Seeker

Meghan Chase vs. The Iron Court

Calla Tor vs. The Keepers

Bella Swan vs. The Volturi

Charlie Bone vs. Ezekiel Bloor

(I have not read this series since the fifth grade, so I'm not so sure of the villain for this one!)

So, who are your top 5 favorite villains versus your favorite heroes?

In My Mailbox (6)

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea at Pop Culture Junkie where we post about books we have received during the week via mailbox, local library, or store bought, etc.

WON

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly from Novel Novice

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW

The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

RECEIVED FOR GIVEAWAYS

5 ARC copies of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver - swag

A huge thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me the Clockwork Angel ARCs and Jana for sending the swag to help out with my challenge giveaways! Also, a big thank you to Leanna for sending me a copy of her book!

So, if you want an ARC of Clockwork Angel and some swag, it is not too late to sign up for my reading challenge! You can find the original challenge post HERE! :)

You've seen what I received in my mailbox this week, so fellow bookworms, what did you get in your mailbox?

Book Review: The Lonely Hearts Club

Title: The Lonely Hearts Club

Author: Elizabeth Eulberg

Publisher: Point (December 29th 2009)

Genre: YA/Chick Lit

Series: N/A

Pages: 285

Source: Won from Books Complete Me

Love is all you need...or is it? Penny's about to find out in this wonderful debut.
Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows - no more. It's a personal choice...and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born; The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her nondating ways...which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like...

My $0.02

First of all, I just have to say, I didn't get the cover for this book at all when I first received it. The summary for the book caught my attention, but I was a little lost on the cover. BOYOHBOY! How wrong was I?! After reading, no while reading it I kept turning back to look at the cover and I smiled everytime because within the first five pages you discover something and the cover ties it in perfectly!

This book is sooo cute! It's a story of heartbreak, friends, boys, more friends, and more boys! I got pulled so deep into the story so fast I had to tear myself away from it to get some sleep! Our MC, Penny is a very relateable (Is that a word? Too lazy to look it up! Ha!) protagonist. She speaks with a voice of my generation. From the moment I opened the first page to the moment I closed the book, I was wrapped around the truths that Eulberg stated.

Eulberg's writing is so comical and witty! I felt like I was talking to my friends! The supporting characters were so fun to read! I have to say, Diane was definitely my favorite character. She seemed to have grown the most from the beginning to the end. You literally see her transform for the better.

The guy - who I will not name - (sigh!) I don't want to name him because when I read it, I almost couldn't figure out who he was going to be. I thought he was going to pop up and surprise me, but . . . well I'll let you read! The whole storyline for this story is very true, I believe. I think we, ladies, need to unite together and see the beauty and uniqueness within us all.

This book is about finding oneself and realizing that you don't live to please anyone. Live for yourself and just be happy! This book was a quick read that I enjoyed very much! When I read books like these, Chick Lit - I always see it all play out like a movie! :) With a feel-good feeling at the end!

You want that feeling?! Read this book! *__*

Notable Quotes (2)

 What you do with this meme is that every week you'll post a quote, say what book you got it from, who the author is and why you chose it. Here's this week's quote:

I grabbed a pen off my desk and wrote below my "Yesterday" entry. I wasn't rewriting history, I was just reminding myself that I could get over heartbreak if it happened another time.The Lonely Hearts Clubby Elizabeth Eulberg

This quote is somewhat similar to the quote I picked last week, but it's stated kind of differently. I just really enjoyed this quote because in the moment of reading the book, I felt like the MC had come to a huge realization.

And yes, I somehow got by with a little help from my friends.The Lonely Hearts Clubby Elizabeth Eulberg

This quote says it all - all you need in life is friends and everything will be alright.If you've read the book, you would know exactly how appropriate this quote is for the book overall. I know, this week I didn't stick to picking just one quote, but I can explain! I just finished this book about fifteen minutes ago and so these quotes are still alive and fresh in my mind, so I really just had to share! 

This weekly meme is brought to you by Bewitched Bookworms!

Friday Fantasize (3)

Friday Fantasize is a weekly event hosted by Misha over at My Love Affair With Books where you list 3 books (released/unreleased, new/old) on your wishlist, every week :)

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Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles - Kevin Hearne

Synopsis

(Goodreads)

Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old--when in actuality, he's twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he's hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power--plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish--to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

The Demon Girl - Penelope Fletcher

Synopsis

(Goodreads)

Rae Wilder has problems. Plunged into a world of dark magic, fierce creatures and ritual sacrifice, she is charged with a guarding a magical amulet. Rae finds herself beaten up, repeatedly, and forced to make a choice: to live and die human, or embrace her birth-right and wield magics that could turn her into something wicked, a force of nature nothing can control.

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Synopsis

(Goodreads)

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.

Up to date w/school #2

So, I have to present "A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim" by Walt Whitman to my English class on Tuesday, and I was wondering if any of you have a "one of a kind" idea for me and my group to keep the class entertained in regards to the poem? For example, we have to basically present the poem, who it's by, what it means, and bleh bleh bleh. So far we have in mind, a powerpoint - cause it's easy, a quiz to test my fellow classmates of their understanding of the poem, and a wordsearch. But I feel like we should do something more, something fun and something that will last about 15 minutes of the class period, lol! Any ideas would be lovely! If you've got any, please submit by tonight! LOL! I'm trying to get them all in so I can type them up on Word and print them out so my teacher can go make 40+ copies over the weekend! :) Thank you!

Cover Reavel: Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I love book covers! Especially the second or the third or the fourth book in the series because then you can buy all of them and they just all go together so perfectly! Anyway, here's the second installment to the Raised by Wolves series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes! I have not read the first book, but my sister has so maybe I'll borrow her copy!

In compliment to the first book:

Don't they just go together so . . . perfectly? :) LOL

On another side note, if any of you watch The Vampire Diaries and/or follow Michael Trevino on twitter, you would know that his twitter avatar shows him holding a piece of paper that says "Raised by Wolves." How awesome is that?! Well, maybe it's not to you, but it sure is to me! *__*

I've reached 100+ Followers!

WOOOOW! I can not believe that I've reached 100+ followers! I know, generally, when people reach this stage, they hold HUGE giveaways in appreciation, and I would love to do that, but I have no mulah to do such things, as of now, BUT I am SUPER thankful for all my followers! I feel like it was just yesterday when I first started blogging and here I am with many followers; it's incredible! When I first started out, I didn't think anyone would stumble upon my page or find any of my posts to be interesting! And here I am, three months later *__* I have the biggest smile on my face right now! This is a ginormous accomplishment! A milestone, if you will! I just want to give a shout-out to all my terrific, fantastic, ooberAWESOME followers! You guys rock! :)

OOH MMM GEE! SQUEE!

Waiting on Wednesday (6): The Iron Queen

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

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The Iron Queen

by Julie Kagawa

Expected publication: February 1st 2011 by Harlequin Teen

Synopsis taken from Goodreads

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back. 

I don't know about you, but I am SUPER DUPER excited for this book! Just today, I read on another blog that its release date is January 25th. Now, I'm not sure because this isn't the expected publication date mentioned above, so if you know the correct date, please - do tell! I am IN LOVE with this amazing series! It's a little bittersweet that this series is coming to an end, yet I cannot wait to find out what's going to happen! Wait - is this the last book? Yay? Ney? :) Also, check out the covers!

LIKE, OH MMM GEE!

They're . . . they make me speechless! These covers are stunning! Wait until you have the actual copy in your hands! :) Mind-blowing!

What's your WoW pick this week?