"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Showing posts with label Leigh Bardugo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leigh Bardugo. Show all posts

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Beehive Book Haul and News #38: The "Lincoln, John and Nate" Edition


Good morning my lovelies :) 
I hope everyone has had a wonderful week!!!
This week kind of ran away from me - it's no joke when time slips by that fast, eeep! 
Overall, good week around these parts... even with all the snow that is still lingering around, lol!

What happened on the blog this week...
- Grown-Up Sundays #7: A Lady and Her Magic by Tammy Falkner (Adult)
- Blaze (or Love in the Times of Supervillains) by Laurie Boyle Crompton book launch recap and giveaway!
- Book Blast: A Touch Menacing by Leah Clifford (YA)
- Cover Reveal: The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater (YA)
- Waiting On Wednesday #47: When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney (YA)
- Review and Giveaway: Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison (YA)
- New Cover: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling (MG)
- Full Trailer Reveal and Giveaway from Spencer Hill Press: The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray (YA)


I'm linking up to: Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and Showcase Sunday :)

What I received for review...
- Emblaze (The Violet Eden Chapters #3) (eARC) by Jessica Shirvington (YA)
- Earthbound (ARC) by Aprilynne Pike (YA)

What I purchased, traded, won, etc...
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (YA)
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (YA)
- Shatter Me (eBook) by Tahereh Mafi (YA)
- Destroy Me (Shatter Me Novella #1.5) by Tahereh Mafi (YA)
- The Awesome Official Guide to Club Penguin by Katherine Knoll and Tracey West (MG)
- Club Penguin Mad Libs: World's Greatest Word Game by Roger Price and Leonard Stern (MG)
- Big Nate Flips Out by Lincoln Peirce (MG)
- Gangster Squad by Paul Lieberman (Adult)


Mentions and THANK YOU's...
- Sourcebooks Fire
- Penguin Teen/Razorbill

What's happening on the blog next week...
* Guest Review!!! Sara of The Next Chapter stops by and reviews The Goddess Inheritance (Goddess Test #3) by Aimee Carter (YA)
- Grown-Up Sundays #8: Once Again a Bride by Jane Ashford (Adult)
- Review: Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau (MG)
- Review: Real Mermaids Don't Hold Their Breath by Helene Boudreau (MG)
- Splash Into Spring Blog Tour: Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels by Helene Boudreau (MG) Review/Giveaway
- Waiting On Wednesday #48
- Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (YA)
- Friday Reads #12

Current giveaways...
- Blaze (or Love in the Times of Supervillians) by Laurie Boyle Crompton (US and International)
- Nobody and Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (US/Canada)
- Notes From Ghost Town and The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison (US/Canada)


I hope you decide to check out some of these links!

Please don't yell at me too much for not reading The Fault in Our Stars yet ;) 

Be sure to say HI and leave you comments and links below!!!
Happy reading!!! xo

Friday, December 28, 2012

Day 5: Top 10 Must Have Books for 2013


I cannot believe that in just a few short days 2012 will be over!
I have loved reminiscing about all the great books that 2012 gave to us :) 

Today's the last day of "Top 10 of 2012"...
a huge thank you to the hosts for putting this together! 




Top 10 Must Have Books for 2013 

... in a series: 

Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton 
Expected release date: January 22nd, 2013

Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.

Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.

Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.



Expected release date: May 28th, 2013 

"I dare you..." 

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does.... 

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him. 

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all.



Expected release date: March 5th, 2013
  
Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.

Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them.



Emblaze (The Violet Eden Chapters #3) by Jessica Shirvington 
Expected release date: March 1st, 2013 

Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice ... and the consequences are unimaginable. 

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was.

Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too. 

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realise exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to.



Expected release date: June 4th, 2013

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can't outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling's game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.


by Gena Showalter 
Expected release date: 2013

NO cover, summary or exact pub date yet! 
BUT, I have a good feeling about it ;) 
Can't wait!!!


... new standalones: 

Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer 
Expected release date: May 7th, 2013 

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.


Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt 
Expected release date: March 26th, 2013

When Mallory discovers that her boyfriend, Jeremy, is cheating on her with an online girlfriend, she swears off boys. She also swears off modern technology. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in 1962, Mallory decides to "go vintage" and return to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn't cheat on you online). She sets out to complete grandma's list: run for pep club secretary, host a dinner party, sew a homecoming dress, find a steady, do something dangerous. But the list is trickier than it looks. And obviously finding a steady is out . . . no matter how good Oliver (Jeremy's cousin) smells. But with the help of her sister, she'll get it done. Somehow. 


The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar 
Expected release date: March 21st, 2013 

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan of attack for everything, from landing the lead in her high school musical to dealing with her increasingly absent parents. But when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the opportunity to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Especially since Oliver--not blue-skinned, not bottle-dwelling, but a genie nonetheless--can see more than what she's willing to show him. With one peek into her mind, he can see the wishes that even Margo herself doesn't know she wants.

But Oliver comes with more than just mind-reading abilities, a flair for magic, and the prettiest eyes Margo's ever seen. Someone from his past is hunting him--someone bent on killing him, along with all the other genies in the world, for the sake of honor. And as Margo soon discovers, it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.



Golden by Jessi Kirby
Expected release date: May 14th, 2013 

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost may be a distant relative of Robert Frost, but she has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a mystery in her lap—one that might be the key to uncovering the truth behind a town tragedy, she decides to take a chance.



Honorable Mentions

by Bethany Griffin 
Expected release date: April 23rd, 2013

In Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles—betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.

With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.



Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein 
Expected release date: March 2013 

What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?



So it seems that I'm going for broke in March and May, lol! 
Lots more great books coming this year, I'm SO excited :)

What are you anxious to get your hands on in 2013?!?!

Monday, December 24, 2012

The Best Books That I Have Read in 2012


Merry Christmas Eve :) 

I've decided to participate in the... Top 10 of 2012! 
You can find more info HERE to participate!!! 

Hosted by... 
Fiktshun, Two Chicks On Books, 
Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, 
Confessions Of A Bookaholic, 
and A Life Bound By Books

My most favorite books for 2012 are... 



1. PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry 
I've always liked contemporary, but this book made me fall in love with the whole genre!
Echo and Noah's stories where so tragic, their love just made sense...
I love books that can give you the big feels right from the start!




by Jodi Lynn Anderson 
 Oh my, sniff... this story ripped my heart out! 
Yes, it starts out a bit slow, BUT, once things start moving along...
Tiger Lily, Tick Tock, Peter Pan, The Lost Boys...
Oh, Tick Tock! Peter!!!... such a bittersweet ending.
This is one of those books that will be re-read, over and over again...
loved it so much! 



3. EMBRACE and ENTICE by Jessica Shirvington 

THIS is how you do an Angel story! 
It's got everything - 
kick-ass heroines, love story, awesome plot, amazing writing, etc.
Can't wait for the 3rd book, Emblaze!!!




4. EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton
OMG, JACK!!!
The ending, it nearly killed me! But it was SO good, it couldn't have ended in any other way!
I NEED to read Everbound as soon as it is released!
I need to know what happens to Jack... and if worse comes to worse,
maybe I can save him ;) 







5. ENCHANTED by Alethea Kontis 
As you all already know, my most favorite books are those that are fairytale retellings or re-imaginations...

And Alethea Kontis was able to take almost all of my favorite fairytales and entwine them together into one magical book!
I am so excited to read the rest of the series (6 more!!!) and see what other stories she will use to tell the tales of the other characters.





6. OBSIDIAN and ONYX by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
This author has become one of my all-time favorites!
And THIS series is the main reason why!!!
I don't ever want this to end! Not only because of Daemon {giggle},
but because the whole series and story-line is just fabulous!!! 
I never thought I would love aliens so very much ;) 



7. ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND by Gena Showalter 
I am NOT a fan of Zombies!
I am super surprised when this one instantly popped into my head for my top 10 list, lol!
The whole zombie-twist that Gena Showalter came up with really impressed me - and all the bits and references to 'Wonderland' were brilliantly done!
I am really looking forward to book 2, Through the Zombie Glass next year :)





8. SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo
I have never had much luck with high-fantasy books... 
that is, until I read Shadow and Bone! 
It is by far one of the best fantasy books I have ever read! 
And I am so very excited for book 2, Siege and Storm, to be released!!!





by Jess Rothenberg
 This is the first book that I read when I started book blogging; 
it's also the first book signing I went to too :) 
I love everything about this book - 
the author, the cover, the story, the twist towards the end... 
I am always recommending this one!





10. KEEP HOLDING ON by Susane Colasanti 
 This is a story that will always stay with me.
One that I will always recommend to people of all ages to read. 
The emotions I went through while reading this one...
I can only imagine what others went through in school.
And some that still go through.
It is a definite must read!
And I adore the author and will always pick up her books without any hesitations!






Honorable Mention:
The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver 
This was my first Lauren Oliver book! 
Yes, I know that it is a middle grade book - 
and it is definitely on my list and worth mentioning!
The world building, writing and story-line was so unique and amazing! 
I will definitely be shelving this one on my 'classic shelf' and hope to see it labeled so in the future. 





That's my Top 10 for 2012!!!
What are some of your favorites??? 

Monday, June 18, 2012

A "Nobel Beehive Award" Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1)
by Leigh Bardugo 
Release Date: June 5th, 2012
Format: ARC
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillan)
Genre: YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi

SUMMARY 
(from Goodreads) 

"Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart."


THE TRAILER


MY REVIEW 

I have to admit right now that I am not a big fan of high fantasy books, my expectations of them are always too high - the world building and characters have to capture me within the first few pages - I need to be able to picture and feel everything as though I am sitting right next the characters...
Leigh Bardugo not only delivered but went over and beyond anything I could have ever expected with  Shadow and Bone!  
Her writing and storytelling had me mesmerized right from the start. There were moments that I found myself holding my breath and had to contain myself from skipping ahead! I could not put this book down and ended up reading it all in one night! 

I feel like no matter what I write right now, it won't do this book any justice... 

Alina is your average teen girl, really, she's just average. In a world that is ranked by power and beauty, Alina does not fit in anywhere. The only place she ever felt slightly normal was when she was with her childhood best friend, Mal. And now that they're of age and have been enlisted to do their jobs, they have been growing apart... until one day, their regiments are deployed to go through The Fold - a place that no one ever wants to go through - and they are attacked and Mal is seriously injured which causes Alina to unleash her unknown powers to stop it. A power that no on else possess. Which then leads to Alina joining the Royal Court, and must go through training to control her new power. She is thrust into an unknown world, one that she had never thought she would ever be a part of. Even with her power, she feels that she not good enough to be ranked with the beautiful Grisha. And I don't blame her! Everyone always thought of her as average, and she believed it. Wouldn't you have a hard time getting over your past as the 'ugly duckling' that nobody wanted? 

Mal... I have to say, in the beginning, I didn't like Mal very much. He started off like a typical teen boy, hanging out with his friends, showing off, doing what guys do. But once he was one-on-one with Alina, we finally got to see his true personality, and he shined. Yes, sounds typical, but in real life this is what people do - we sometimes act a bit differently depending who we are with, and most teens are known to do fall for this... and I forgive Mal. He truly lives up to everything you will expect of him, and more.

There is no denying that The Darkling is a stunning, quick witted and a mysterious guy. Which of course makes him completely irresistible. Even though I had a bad gut feeling about this guy, I fell for him. Hard. 
And he broke my heart... and no, I will never forgive him. 

The Fold. 
This is the place where nightmares are made. Seriously! I had a dream, errr, nightmare about it. The Fold is a stretch of land that has been voided. There is nothing there but complete darkness and for lack of a better word, death. This is where Bardugo's writing and world building just left me with my mouth hanging open, staring out into space, picturing and feeling exactly what it would feel like to be in that place... it gave me the shivers.

If you loved Katsa, Po and Leck from Graceling (by Kristin Cashore), you will also love Alina, Mal and The Darkling. Similar stories, for both are very well written high fantasy books. But so very different in everything else. Shadow and Bone is a must read book! 



Book 2 to the Grisha Trilogy is called Siege and Storm 
and is expected to be released in 2013.
Book 3, Ruin and Rising, is expected to be released in 2014.

In the meantime, there is a companion folk tale that was just released...
The Witch of Duva.
"There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls… or so the story goes. But it’s just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home."


ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
(from website)

Leigh Bardugo was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from Yale University. She indulges her fondness for glamour, ghouls, and costuming in her other life as makeup artist L.B. Benson. She lives in Hollywood and can occasionally be heard singing with her band, Captain Automatic.Her debut novel, Shadow & Bone, is the first book in the Grisha Trilogy and will be published by Holt Children’s/Macmillan in June 2012.


 
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