Giveaway: Shadow Hills swag!

HAPPY RELEASE DAY TO SHADOW HILLS! To celebrate, Anastasia Hopcus has generously emailed me some pretty Shadow Hills bookmarks, pins, and magnets to give away. You can read my review of Shadow Hills here and my interview with Anastasia here. And, of course, you can read the summary here...


Summary: from {goodreads}
Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.

But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

Shadow Hills is an intriguing mix of Greek mythology, mystery, romance, and a hint of suspense. From page one, readers will be sucked in to the captivating world

THREE (3) winners will recieve four Shadow Hills bookmarks, a magnet, and two pins.


Rules:
· To enter, please fill out the form below
· Open to U.S. & Canada addresses (if your friend is willing to ship to you, it's fine)
· Ends on Thursday, July 23, 2010 at 12:00PM EST
· For more info, please view my Contest Policy

I'll be out of the country starting July 24th. You don't have to leave your mailing address below but if I email you and you don't respond by Thursday night, I may have to mail the swag after I come back in mid-August.



700 Followers Contest - ARCs

Please note that COMMENTS ON THIS POST ARE NOT ENTRIES. Enter here.

Sorry, sorry for not posting much this week! I didn't really expect life to be so hectic with my entrepreneurship program and driver education but I'm basically working from 7:30AM to 9:30PM, then add on the business plan due Friday... right. I'm also getting behind on email, though I'll definitely try to get through them this weekend! Thanks for bearing with me. :)

Anyways, here are the ARCs that I've decided to put up for the 700 followers contest...


· Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart
· Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
· Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
· Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus
· The Candidates by Inara Scott
· Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

I hope you're looking forward to reading these! Don't forget to enter the contest, which ends TOMORROW FRIDAY (sorry for the double change, I'll be finalizing the business plan like crazy tomorrow night). Look on the right-hand sidebar for the contest link and enter, enter, enter! You know you want to. ;)

Review: Other by Karen Kincy

Karen Kincy's website here // $9.95 from {amazon}
Publisher: Flux (July 1, 2010)
Paperback: 336 pages
Summary: from {goodreads}
Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.
 
Rating: View my rating system.
 


My Thoughts: Other is a thrilling debut by Karen Kincy. It’s chock-full of sweet romance, unrelenting danger, nail-biting action, and a certain kickass half-pooka, a refreshing change from the common vampire/werewolf theme. Other’s main detraction is its cumbersome beginning, but if you’re willing to hold through to the end, you’ll find a fast-paced, action-packed adventure that will likely prove impossible to put down.

The first half was difficult and frustrating to read for two reasons: 1) the awkward introduction and 2) Gwen’s prejudice against werewolves. Karen Kincy makes a decent attempt at developing Gwen’s teenage voice but it came across as contrived and, frankly, unauthentic. The liberal use of sarcasm and, er, kind of lame jokes sadly only serve to drag out the beginning. Fortunately, the writing quickly picks up and becomes smoother and more believable. But despite the better writing, Gwen’s perception of all werewolves as horrifying criminals continued to irk me for what felt like an extremely long time. I can understand a bit of prejudice, but Gwen constantly preaches how Others should be treated fairly – she even has a blog endorsing equal treatment – then turns around and is an exact example of why people continue to hold stereotypes against Others. Gah, it’s so hypocritical I could barely stand it. Luckily, Gwen’s hypocrisy only comes up a few times (the few pages I skipped) though I still felt she was occasionally shallow and never fully connected with her. Overall, my relationship was Gwen was both ying-and-yang; she’s not a detraction nor is she very annoying, if a bit dramatic. When she finally overcame her paranoia, I could finally and completely enjoy the book in all its glory. And it certainly does have its glory in a certain fox-spirit boy...

Getting past the rocky beginning, the end was gripping. Karen Kincy weaves an intriguing mystery with nail-biting action, but what really cinched the deal for me was Tavian. I would willingly go against Gwen’s insane pooka skills if I had a chance with Tavian, no joke. He’s only a couple inches over five feet but “don’t mess with me or my girl” fierce when he’s protective. He makes an adorable fox and is unbelievably sweet, sensitive, dorky, and funny. Oh, and did I mention he’s a Japanese Johnny Depp look-a-like? Right. I can’t say to what extent Tavian has made me biased in my opinions of Other, though I can say he’s topped my list of swoon-worthy nice guys. Setting Tavian aside, Karen Kincy definitely knows how to make a climactic ending with guns, blood, and the unexpected twist and how to keep the reader hooked as the clues fall into place.

Romance: A little kissing and sex. Nothing detailed but clothes comes off. AND I <3333 TAVIAN. :D
Cover: 4.5 -- It's very mysterious and matches the story perfectly. The cover makes red hair, golden eyes, and freckles look gorgeous; I can't say how happy I am that the publishers didn't just slap on a generic pretty face.
Writing: 3.0
Characters: 3.5
Plot: 4.0

Bottom Line: Other is a fairly solid debut that starts off rough but evens out and shines at the end. I love the mystery, love interest, and interesting setting (ie. paranormal creatures) much more than the characters or writing, but if you're looking for a fast-paced, unique paranormal read, I would recommend trying Other.

Source: Sent by the publisher for review.

In My Mailbox (21) & NYC

I mentioned that I went to NYC last weekend... and STRAND IS AMAZING. It's like heaven in a tall building and between wooden floors. If you haven't been there yet, YOU NEED TO. No if, and, or buts about it. :D

I even saw some books that have yet to be released, such as Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus* (sorry the pic is a little shaky - you can see I'm about five shelves above the floor and I am a wimp with heights):


(Isn't it gorgeous? ♥)


Bought:
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- cannot believe I didn't read it until now! A must read.
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
The Seven Rays by Jessica Bendinger
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
No and Me(ARC) by Delphine De Vigan -- I like the ARC cover but I saw the real book at Strand and it looks like the UK cover with the black house and blue background.
Dangerous Neighbors(ARC) by Beth Kephart




After visitng Strand and shopping for a while, my sister and I pigged out at The Brooklyn Diner in Times Square. Yes, that's a 15-inch hot dog; yes, I came really close to throwing up. But it was totally worth it. Then we went to go watch Chicago on Broadway, which was much more risque than I was expecting - but my sister handled it well. ;)

So that's it! What did you get this week? Leave me a link and I'll be sure to check it out.

*P.S. If you're anticipating Shadow Hills, watch out for a Shadow Hills swag contest this week!

The Saturday Network (24)

WHAT IS THE SATURDAY NETWORK? The Saturday Network is meant to be a quick, easy way for you to network your blog and, more specifically, get comments! All you have to do is comment on the previous blog and, in return, you're guaranteed a comment by the next participant. We all love comments, right? :)

I also randomly feature a Saturday Networker every week, and it could be you!

---------------------------------------------♥------------------------------------------------

First, I'm so, so sorry for the lack of posts this week! There's just been so much going on, including cramming for and getting my driver's permit yesterday. *happy dance* If you see a driver on the road that moves at about 5mph and looks like she's possibly in danger of crashing, that may be me. WATCH OUT. I've also been in charge of getting my summer volunteer group for music up-to-date and it's been drama, drama, DRAMA. You'd be surprised by how passionately a certain teenage boy cares about classical music... and how much others want to rip his head off. I'm also starting an entrepreneurship program on Monday but the posting (and hopefully commenting) should be back to normal, whew. Sorry for the late Saturday Network too; we were having our final volunteer training session this morning. :)

Oh, and thanks to all my lovely fellow anime-movie watchers! I read all of your comments and suggestions and I'm glad I'm not the only Howl's Moving Castle lover - which would be such a sad tragedy. I'll do a follow-up post sometime!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I'll be extending my 700 followers contest to Thursday because I won't really have time to look through the entries before then. I'll be announcing the ARCs that are up for grabs on either Monday or Tuesday, so check back!

Anyways, back to the featured blogger again! This week's featured blogger is Cara (SN#27) from Chasing Words. She's a fellow YA book blogger that gives detailed ratings and has an adorable layout. She recently posted about her favorite fictional YA boys, which I couldn't agree more with! ;D

To Participate:
1. Submit your blog to Mr. Linky in this format:

Blog Name - Child/MG/YA/Adult/ALL; R
(genre(s) you review; R = if you feel your blog is for mature audiences only, 18+)
Blog link

 ie. Books At Midnight - MG/YA

2. Head to the blog listed before yours and comment on his/her most recent post (or the previous one if it's rated R and you're under 18). Thoughtful comments are appreciated, but if you really can't think of anything to say, feel free to just drop a line and say "hi!"
3. That's it! I encourage you to visit more blogs and I hope you find a blog to enjoy! :)




And if you'd like to grab and post the button anywhere, you can find the code on the right side-bar, thanks!

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Anime Movies: My Top & My Thoughts

The world is against me. First it refuses to let me post a vlog, next it's no internet and major headache. I was planning on posting reviews but though I've literally read about 10 books in the past few days, I'm just not... feeling the review? So I've decided to post about some anime movies to spice things up - woo! Basically the movies I love, what I'm thinking about watching, and what I've just started.

First off, HAYAO MIYAZAKI. If you haven't heard of him, under which rock do you live?! The white pebbled one over there or the rocky one I found today in my driveway? THIS MAN CAN DO NO WRONG IN MY BOOK. No joke. He has awesome instrumentals and graphics too. :D

My absolute favorite is Howl's Moving Castle, which is definitely a must-see. The art is stunning, the music is unbelievably catchy in addition to beautiful, and it has solid lessons mixed in with a bit of romance. It may be that I love this one the most because I'm a complete sucker for happy endings and innocent romance - okay, so I rewinded and watched the one quick kiss about 20 times - but that makes it perfect for fans of Disney movies. I included the movie poster below because it has pretty movie snapshots but the DVD cover, which I own, is a bit more bland. This is a movie I'd show my kids (if I had some), though I'd watch out for some bombs. It does say war is very, very, very bad.


If you're looking for more, I'd watch the classics: Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, which I've actually never watched but have heard is great. I've watched many more though and the oldies-but-goodies I'd recommend are: Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (snapshot below) and Princess Mononoke. The older ones are a bit more graphic though and shouldn't be watched by a younger audience. Still, if you're up to a little gore, I was surprised by how good the graphics still were.


Another pretty recent one I've watched is The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It's also a pretty well-known one and one that I thought was pretty good. It can get a bit sad and bit slow at the beginning, but overall the graphics are appealing and there's some interesting originality to the plot.


Here's a quick list of some anime movies that I've heard are EPIC but have yet to watch (if you're interested): Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and Ghost in the Shell. They all lean toward the slightlier heavier side with darker art, so I haven't really worked up the nerve to watch those yet.



\And, finally, what I'm watching now: 5 Centimeters Per Second. It sounds like a heart-rending love story and I'm getting the tissues ready as I type. I've heard it's realistic but oh-so-good. Fingers crossed and I'll report back! I'm also looking into another of Makato Shinkai's movies, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, though I haven't started it yet. It's on Netflix on Instant Play though! ;)

 
 

So what about you? Do you have any anime movie recommendations or thoughts? Anything you're watching now? I'd love to hear! :)

Harlequin's Calling Girls 13-17!


Whew, I just got back from NYC this morning and read until 4:30AM. So I'm way too tired right now to do anything legit (I'll post pictures and my review of Other by Karen Kincy soon). On the bright side, I finished a number of books including The Hunger Games, which I just bought in paperback. AND IT IS AMAZING. I don't know how I survived so long without reading it. I'm definitely going out and buying Catching Fire now. And if you haven't read it yet, READ IT! :D /end rave

Moving on to real news, I received an email today from Cecilia about the Harlequin Teen Panel. I looked into this over half a year ago but it was full - unfortunately. But now it's open again to new members, so what are you waiting for? Free books, input on book campaigns, and more! I'm a huge fan of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, and I'm signing up as I type. Harlequin's also published great books such as The Soul Screamer series by Rachel Vincent and Intertwined by Gena Showalter, so if you're: 1) a girl, 2) 13-17 years old, and 3) live in the United States, definitely check this out!

Here's the message from Cecilia:

How to Join: We are looking for girls from age 13 to 17 who live in the USA and who love to read young adult fiction books. We do need your parent’s consent—it’s a legal thing. Visit HarlequinTeenPanel.com to find out more about the Harlequin Teen Panel and how to join.

What do you do as a member? You’ll be contacted at least once a month via email with a survey or discussion about books and other topics. You should also know that we created our panel for market research only, which means I’m not going to sell you anything--ever--I’m only interested in getting your honest opinions.

Here’s what some of the members of the Harlequin Teen Panel have to say:

“I love to read; this is a great way to read books before they come out or even influence them” – Harlequin Teen Panelist

“So far I love being one of your members. The books are great and I have been sharing with my friends. They would also love to join.” – Harlequin Teen Panelist

Are you interested? Visit HarlequinTeenPanel.com/blog to join now!

The Saturday Network (23)

WHAT IS THE SATURDAY NETWORK? The Saturday Network is meant to be a quick, easy way for you to network your blog and, more specifically, get comments! All you have to do is comment on the previous blog and, in return, you're guaranteed a comment by the next participant. We all love comments, right? :)

I also randomly feature a Saturday Networker every week, and it could be you!

---------------------------------------------♥------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the comments last week! It seems like all of you liked the new Mr. Linky version, so it's here to stay. And I've been getting behind on the comments and posting a little, but I'll get back on it once I get back from my NYC trip - which will definitely include a stop by Strand. So excited! :D

As a heads up, there won't be a post tomorrow because my computer is screwing up. RIGHT WHEN I DID MY FIRST VLOG, gah. But I'll work through that again when I get back. Feel free to participate in The Saturday Network on Sunday too! There won't be a featured blogger this week, sorry, but there will be next week.

To Participate:
1. Submit your blog to Mr. Linky in this format:

Blog Name - Child/MG/YA/Adult/ALL; R
(genre(s) you review; R = if you feel your blog is for mature audiences only, 18+)
Blog link

 ie. Books At Midnight - MG/YA

2. Head to the blog listed before yours and comment on his/her most recent post (or the previous one if it's rated R and you're under 18). Thoughtful comments are appreciated, but if you really can't think of anything to say, feel free to just drop a line and say "hi!"
3. That's it! I encourage you to visit more blogs and I hope you find a blog to enjoy! :)




And if you'd like to grab and post the button anywhere, you can find the code on the right side-bar, thanks!

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Author Contests & News

In lieu of The Weekly Debate, I decided to do a post about awesome author contests and news in the past week because, I admit it, I hardly ever talk about book news. I hope this post is of some use! :)

CONTESTS

To celebrate her new book trailer for The Dark Divine, Bree Despain is hosting a book-bag contest (international) with tons of awesome ARCs and the possible giveaway of an ARC of the sequel The Lost Saints and a 16GB iPad. The more views her trailer gets, the larger the prize. Here's the trailer, which is a pretty epic 31 seconds:



Courtney Allison Moulton is offering one of the first ARCs of Angelfire (international) - signed! There will also be second and third place winners who will win a free book or two.

Elizabeth Scott is giving away FIVE sets of ah-mazing Simon & Schuster books. Including Fallout by Ellen Hopkins and a signed copy of The Unwritten Rule. S&S is also throwing in an extra ARC and a tote bag, so what are you waiting for?

Lisa Desrochers just started her July contest. Enter for a chance to win a signed ARC of Personal Demons or some other great July debut book (ie. Other, The Ghost and the Goth).

Shari Maurer is giving away a copy of her newly released book Change of Heart and a Class of 2k10 BEA shirt.

Ally Condie is offering US readers a chance to win a signed ARC of her debut book, Matched (US only).

Rebecca Maizel is giving away a signed ARC of Infinite Days. There have been glowing reviews of this one, so don't miss out!

Andrea Cremer is asking readers to ask HER questions. She'll choose five questions to answer in next Tuesday's post and those FIVE askers will receive an ARC of Nightshade each.

NEWS

Tera Lynn Childs, author of Forgive My Fins, announced that bloggers' comments during the Fin Fest led to her donation of $174.75 to Oceana. Yay to saving the planet!

Kimberly Derting revealed the GORGEOUS cover of Desires of the Dead, the sequel to The Body Finder, on Tuesday.

Michelle Zink is offering a free bookplate to anyone who owns or buys a copy of Prophecy of the Sisters in paperback. She also posted the Guardian of The Gate trailer.

Rachel Vincent revealed the UK covers for her Soul Screamer series. Personally, I think they're stunning and wish we had them in the US. Though I don't really like that they all have "Twilight fans will love it" printed in big font... She also hinted that the US cover for My Soul to Steal will be revealed soon.


NOTEWORTHY POSTS

Anastasia Hopcus, author of Shadow Hills, posted "An Ode to the Awesomeness of Bloggers!" <3333

Cynthia Hand, author of Unearthly, talks about why she doesn't like angels being seen as the "new vampire." View her post "Hot Topic".

Maggie Stiefvater posted "Death by Ham: Playing the Odds of Getting Published," on why the chances of getting published isn't the problem - the quality of the book is. (Pss: She also has her Shiver website up, where you can download the theme songs for Shiver and Linger for free!)

Tessa Gratton posted "Guts of a Writer". Feeling depressed with your WIP/queries/etc.? This will be the post to cheer you on.