February 2012 R.A.K Wrap Up Post (#2)

Another month has passed me by, lol!
Good bye, February...

I decided to participate in Book Soulmates R.A.K again!
Although I didn't get to r.a.k. as much as I wanted to,
it's still nice to be able to make at least one person smile :)

First, a very big and grateful thank you to the chicas at Book Soulmates for hosting!!!

A big thank you to Keri for these eBooks on my Nook :)
- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

- The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

... and a big thank you to Sarabeth of Chronicles of Sarita
for putting more eBooks on my Nook too :)

- Divergent by Veronica Roth

- The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene 

- The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

(Sarabeth is trying to get me to fall into the Iron Fey series, hee hee!)

I sent this Nook Book to Ivy of Ivy Reads :)
I haven't read it yet, but it was on her wishlist, so I hope that she's liking it!!!

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Here's a re-cap of their R.A.K rules :) 
Sign up each month that you'd like to participate. 

• Show off your participation by grabbing our RAK button :)

• Create a wish list (on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog etc) and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month. 
• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger for their address.
• *NEW* E-book participation is limited to files being gifted directly to a person from the e-book store. Amazon's Kindle Store is set up to allow this, as well as the Kobo store and we believe Barnes & Noble as well.
• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K! Make a post saying 'Thank You' to whoever granted one of your wishes and share it with us :)

OPEN TO EVERYONE!

Let's keep our International bloggers in mind and in our hearts.

Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!

Easy peezy!!

• If you have any questions regarding RAK:rakbybooksoulamates @ gmail . com

Happy Reading everyone! xo

Leap Into Books Giveaway Hop

This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Jinky Is Reading. 
It will run from February 29th until March 5th and the winner will be notified on March 6th. 



I finished reading The Catastrophic History of You and Me a few days ago and absolutely loved it!!!
and I want to share it with you!!!
It is such a bittersweet story about love, loss, grief and discovery.

"Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever. 

BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: 

Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally. 

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after. With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?"

One random winner will receive an eBook of The Catastrophic History of You and Me for either their Nook (BN.com) or Kindle (Amazon).


To enter to win, just fill out your entries below using the Rafflecopter! 
Good luck :) 

Teaser Tuesday #3: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Should be Reading... 

It's such a fun meme, I couldn't help but join in too :) All you have to do is: 

Grab your current book, open it to a random page, and share 2 'teaser' sentences from that page; but be careful not to share any spoilers!!! 

I just finished reading Intangible by J. Meyers - SO good! 

and now I'm back to reading... 

Everneath by Brodi Ashton 

Prepare to be teased!!!... 

"I'd like you to ask yourself, Who loses hope first? And who never gives up? 

Because it's not the supernatural abilities that set mythical characters apart." She leaned forward. "It's the decision the human characters make, in impossible situations, that have us still talking about them centuries later. Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with." 

~ Everneath, Mrs. Stone, page 137

Ooo, I haven't reached this part yet, I wonder what brought on this little explanation/speech... hmmm... 

What's you're tease??? :) 

In My Mailbox Sunday #8

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme created by 
The Story Siren -
The idea is to post whatever 'books' you may have received from the week (before), whether you purchased them, gifted to you, borrowed, traded, etc.

Hi there :)
It's been an awesome book week for me! The best one yet!!!

Don't they look pretty??? hee, hee
As you can see, I have an empty shelf that needs filling ;) 

First, if you see the post below this one, you'll see that I went to Books of Wonder last Thursday and met Jess Rothenberg, the author of The Catastrophic History of You and Me, and got a signed copy of it :) 

While at Books of Wonder, I was also able to pick up an already signed copy of Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood!!! Woo hoo! 

See, there was a reason why I was not able to get my hands on this book before, lol! 

And while shopping at Target, I was able to pick this one up on sale...
Soul Screamers Volume One by Rachel Vincent  

At the time I had no idea that this book contained: 

My Soul to Lose (Book #0.5), My Soul to Take (Book #1)
AND My Soul to Save (Book #2)
SO happy I got it!!!

And I had ordered a hardback of Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  

There are some books that I just need to have on my shelf, 

and this is one of them! 

I read the eBook when it first came out, I can't wait to re-read it :) 

FOR REVIEW:
Intangible (eBook) by J. Meyers 

Already read it and LOVED it!!!
My review should be up later in the week!

Also for review...
The Wedding Beat (ARC) by Devan Sipher

release date: 4/3/2012

Angel Evolution (eBook) by David Estes 

AND, Vaempires: Revolution (eBook) by Thomas Winship
(Tour Stop March 27th, 2012) 

Awesome week :D

What did you get in your IMM???
Please leave a comment with your link!!!

Happy reading!!! 

Release/Book Signing for The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Last Thursday night, Hubs and I headed into Manhattan, just because... 

Well, not really, lol! He is an amateur photographer and wanted to go into Times Square, but didn't want to go alone. I'm not a city girl, I admit it, I am spoiled and don't enjoy walking a lot, lol! but I have been wanting to visit Books of Wonder... 

and what a wonderful surprise it was to find out that the author of 

The Catastrophic History of You and Me 

was having her release party there that same night! How could I say no and not go! 

Pic Courtesy of Books of Wonder

Funny part is, once we got to the store, I went to the ladies room and when I came out, standing right behind me was Jess Rothenberg, lol! Yes, we met in the ladies room, ha!
She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met! She read the first chapter to us and then did a fun 80's trivia contest... here is Jess signing away...

Super adorable and sweet!

I am halfway through reading The Catastrophic History of You and Me,
such a bittersweet story, I am loving it!

Have you read it yet??? 

PS! While there, I was able to pick up a signed copy of
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood!!!
Double woo-hoo happy :)

The Catastrophic History of You and Me...

Hubs and I are heading into Manhattan in a few minutes... 

and look where I'll be stopping by :) 

Can't wait!!! 

Cover Reveal: Inbetween (Kissed by Death #1) by Tara Fuller

INBETWEEN (Kissed by Death, #1) 

by Tara Fuller 

Release Date: August 7, 2012

"Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn't let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul."

Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Inbetween-Tara-Fuller/dp/1620610833/ref=lh_ni_t

Add to your Goodreads TBR:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055677-inbetween

A book about a Reaper falling in love...? hmmm... :)
What do you think???

In My Mailbox Sunday #7: eBook edition

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme created by 
The Story Siren -
The idea is to post whatever 'books' you may have received from the week (before), whether you purchased them, gifted to you, borrowed, traded, etc.

I have been itching to join all you vlog-ers, lol, but I am not very tech savvy and will save it once I know that I won't be chasing any of you away ;)
My Nook and I are very happy campers! We finally have a really really really good line up of books to get to! I'm SO excited!
Here's what I got this past week... 

*RAK'ed eBooks for my Nook :) 

From Kerri: 

- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

- Hourglass by Myra McEntire

- Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

- The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney 

From my sister, Sarabeth of Chronicles of Sarita: 

- Divergent by Veronica Roth

- The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene 

- The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

*I treated myself to this next book... 

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

EVERYTHING about this book has me hooked -  

The summary, the gorgeous cover, reviews! 

I cannot wait to start this one, hopefully next week :)  

*AND look what I found for just ONE DOLLAR... 

and it's a hardcover book too, lol! 

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold 

Sebold is the author of The Lovely Bones - I haven't watched the movie, but the book was really good, gave me the shivers - so I am hoping that this one is just as good! 

*AND, I received some bookmarks! 

From the author herself, Jill Hathaway :) 

I am SO looking forward to reading Slide - 

Quick summary: "A girl who passes out and slides into other people's minds."

Wow, sounds awesome!

Release date is currently set to be March 27th, 2012!  

That's all from me this week! 

How does your IMM look??? Did you get your faves??? 

 I have to say, this is my MOST fave meme ever :) 

I just love seeing what everyone received, especially through vlogs, hee hee! 

Leave your link so I can visit :) 

Thanks and Happy Reading!!! 

My Friday Find #4: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

It's been a while since I've share a book that I have found
and neeeed to read as soon as I can get my hands on it :) 

Here is my latest find, it's a newbie! It was just released on February 7th! 

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood 

The first of The Cahill Witch Chronicles - 

"Blessed with a gift..."cursed" with a secret." 

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship - or an early grave. 
Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. 
If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood - not even from each other.

Witches!!!
I've been wanting to read more books about/with witches! and I think that this one is going to raise the bar for any other books that I read after this one...
Brotherhood? Priests? Hellooo? Gotta love some robed bad guys, right ;)
I already love the feel of the time period that the story is taking place in...
and who doesn't love a bit of romance too!

Oh! and how can I forget to point out that cover!?
Isn't is gorgeous?!
The pic, the coloring, the font - outstanding!!!
It's going to look so very pretty on my shelf ;)

I actually went to my local bookstore looking for this, and they were sold out already!
So I had to get Everneath by Brodi Ashton instead ;) hee hee!
I guess I will have to wait a bit longer for it!

For now, I will just have to settle reading the first two chapters found HERE!!!
Such a tease :)

What's your much neeeded book to read right now???

A Valentine's Day Books with Love Hop!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! 

This is my first book blog hop :)
A huge thank you to Good Choice Reading and Once Upon a Twilight for hosting!!!

There are so many swoon worthy reads out there!
I have so many that I love to reread over and over again ;)
Some of my faves are...

Fallen by Lauren Kate,
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer,
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks,
The Last Promise
by Richard Paul Evans,
The Time Travelers Wife
by Audrey Niffenneggar,
and of course, one of the ultimate love stories of all time... Romeo and Juliet!

There are so many other love stories that I haven't read yet!

I am offering a $20 gift certificate from Barnes and Noble...
all you have to do to enter, is leave a comment with the title to your favorite love story!
Hopefully you all will have some newbies for me to check out, hee hee!!!
There are other options for you to do too
in case you would like to follow and earn some extra entries to win ;)

Happy hopping and enjoy your Valentine's Day!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Review: Love Unfinished... by Darian Wilk

Good day book-loving friends!
I have another review to share with you today...

Title: Love Unfinished... 
Author: Darian Wilk 
Release Date: October 2011
Age Group: Adult (18+)
Publisher: Darian Wilk via Smashwords
Available Format(s): eBook (Nook)
Author's Blog: http://darianwilk.weebly.com/view-blog.html
Darian Wilk's Facebook and Twitter 

"Soul mates from the past leave their love unfinished when a tragic accident ends their lives on their wedding day. Yet they are destined to meet again to fulfill that love in new incarnations, leading vastly different lives. 

Emma thought she had chosen the right path, but too late does she realize her mistake as her husband reveals the monster behind his smile; morphing their fairytale image with loveless obligation. Trapped in a broken marriage to a powerful, abusive husband, she knows this is not the life she was destined to live. As her hope for love withers, she meets James, her love from a lifetime ago. 

Emma cannot deny the love pulling her toward James, but courage to abandon her marriage wavers and unknowingly puts her love on the line. If Emma has any hope of life and love, she must trust the bond with James and be with the man destiny has spent two lifetimes guiding her toward. Are they fated to fulfill their love, or will they once again, leave love unfinished?"
___________________________________


If you are looking for a sweet romance with a touch of 'Lifetime' movie moment, 
this is the book for you :) 


To be honest, I had put off my review for this book for about a month now - 
I liked the story, the writing was good, it moved along at a very good pace... 
but I still feel like there was something missing - and I do not know how to put that feeling into typed words here, sigh... 


The story starts with sweethearts, Carol and Ted, how they met, fall in love and then die tragically together on their wedding day... 
Many, many years go by and we meet Emma and James. They meet and there is an instant familiarity and connection to each other. They just know that they are meant to be together. 
I really love how Wilk was able to create the 'love-at-first' sight for both couples without making it feel like it was impossible or too soon. 
However, there is a twist to the story that keeps Emma and James from being together - no spoilers here! This is where it gets to be like a 'Lifetime' type of movie for me - I don't mean that in a bad way at all! I liked it very much :) For me, it was a bit predictable, but I don't mind that at all.
The supporting characters turned into my favorites too! Emma's best friend, maid and butler - who would have thought that you could love every good character in a book! and hate the one that you're suppose to hate, like a lot, lol! 


The only problem that I had was that I really wished that the connection to Emma and James' past lives had been tied into the story a lot more - there were a handful of 'mentions' here and there, but not enough for me, I wanted more of that! 


And just when I thought that the story had ended, I noticed that there were too many pages leftover - I actually forgot about Carol and Ted, and why Emma and James wanted to be together... this is the part that I don't know how to explain, I'm just going to leave it that I got too into the main part of the story, and leave it at that. 
The ending is truly the most sweetest ending I have ever read in a long time! 

I enjoyed this and I think that anyone who loves a quick romantic read will enjoy it too :) 

In My Mailbox Sunday #6

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme created by 
The Story Siren -
The idea is to post whatever 'books' you may have received from the week (before), whether you purchased them, gifted to you, borrowed, traded, etc.

What a wonderful book week it was for me!
I am SO excited to read these :) 

*Won:
Incarnate (Audiobook) by Jodi Meadows 
from Bewitched Bookworms - Thank you!!! 

This is my first audiobook ever! 

BUT, I still want this for my bookshelf ;) hee hee! 

... and 
Angel Evolution (ebook) by David Estes 
from The Bookworms - thanks!!! 

*I got:
Passion by Lauren Kate 

{Swoon-ing!} I can't wait to read this one!!! 

Angel by L.A. Weatherly

I looove anything that has to do with angels... fallen angels... 

you will definitely be seeing a lot of 'wing-ed' books around here :)

WonderStruck (ARC) by Brian Selznick 

(Have you seen the inside to this book???)

*For Review: 

Red Deception by J.C. Murtagh 

(Read this one already, pretty good, review will be posted later this week!) 

For Review for Fire and Ice/Little Red Reads: 

The Hunted by Kristy Berridge 

Hound Dog True (ARC) by Linda Urban

The Orphans of Awkward Falls (ARC) by Keith Graves

This Dark Endeavor (ARC) by Kenneth Oppel

... and
Scary School (EBook) by Derek the Ghost

(Read this one already too! and loved it!)

Oh my, it's so hard to choose which to read next!?
How do you pick???

What did you get???!!! 

Feature and Follow #3

"Feature and Follow" is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful and sweet girls of Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read!!!

Please stop by their blogs to say HI and get all the deets from them too!!! 

This week's questions is... 

Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?

Hmmm, this is a tough question, because my favorite books kind of change as I keep finding new ones, lol! and I do re-read them a whole lot, until I find another favorite, and then I re-read that one a whole lot and then either go back to my original re-read to re-read or find a new one... it's an endless cycle, lol! 

SO, it's settled, I will re-read my books until the end of time! 

I don't have time for mediocre (said with a scrunchy face and snotty attitude) books! 

Some of my old favorite re-reads are... 

- Harry Potter Series 

- Twilight (the first book only) 

- The Christmas Box and The Promise by Richard Paul Evans 

- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparkls 

- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway 

Some of my new favorites... 

- Fallen by Lauren Kate 

- The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater 

What are your favorite re-reads??? 

Wishlist Wednesday...

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop, hosted by Pen to Paper, where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.

Oh my, this is such a tough decision! My wishlist grows week by week, it's so hard to narrow it down to just one... so how about one and a half ;) 


Right now, my latest 'gimme now' is... The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney 

"Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect."

Did you read that summary?!?! 

No, really - did you read. that. summary??? 

AND just look at that beautiful cover! I love that they put the girl, Donna, on the cover! 

Faeries... magic... 

I NEED to read this NOW!!! 

PLUUUS!!! 

It's a series!!! 

The second book to The Iron Witch Series is being released TODAY!!! 

The Wood Queen 

Donna Underwood is in deep trouble. An ancient alchemical order is holding her accountable for destroying the last precious drops of the elixar of life. Never mind the fact that Donna was acting to free her friend, Navin, from the dangerous clutches of the Wood Queen at the time. But what the alchemists have in store is nothing compared to the wrath of the fey. The Wood Queen has been tricked and Donna must pay. Get ready for all hell - quite literally - to break loose...

Wow. 


I need both a.s.a.p!!!  :) 


What book do you NEED to read right NOW??? 

In My Mailbox Sunday #5

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren -
The idea is to post whatever 'books' you may have received from the week (before), whether you purchased them, they were gifted to you, borrowed, etc.

Hey everyone! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week! 

Full of books, reads and lots of fun stuffs :) 

Here were the highlights to my week!!! 

For my Nook from my sister, Sarabeth :) 

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa 

I am SO thrilled to finally get to start on the Iron Fey series! Whoot!!! 

I am seriously the only person who hasn't read this one...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins  

I'm starting on this one right now!!! 

I was a bit upset that I could only find this one in paperback, 

but at least I got it, right?! lol 

I treated my Nook to this one since it was only 99cents... 

Cloaked by Alex Flinn 

Looks good :) 

That's it from this week! 

PS!!! I am SO overly excited to tell you that I have been invited to review books for 

Fire and Ice
AND 
Little Red Reads!!! 

SO please follow them too!!!! 

Enjoy the Super Bowl!!! 

or, if you're like me, Happy Reading!!! 

What did you get last week???