Cover Reveal: Mark of Betrayal by A.M. Hudson

WOoHOo. You guys want to see the cover for Mark of Betrayal (Dark Secrets Series #4) by A.M. Hudson?

It's gorgeous, just like the others. And I'm wicked excited to read it. It releases October 31, 2012.

What do you all think?

I can't wait!

Follow Friday #44

Thanks to Parajunkee and Alison Can Read for hosting Follow Friday ever week! You girls are awesome!

This week's question:

Q: Summer Reading. What was your favorite book that you were REQUIRED to read when you were in school?

A: The Hobbit. Hands down. I love The Hobbit and totally can't wait for the new movie in December!



What about you guys??

Lord of the Rings in 99 Seconds

Found this on Youtube just now by the same guy that did Harry Potter in 99 Seconds.

Review - The Heart's Ashes by A.M. Hudson

Death never leaves us. Once it's touched our souls, it hungers for our return--waiting for us to fall. And if it finds Ara again, she will have no way to escape.

Moving on from David was hard, forgetting the abduction and torture was almost impossible, but nothing as devastating as the thought that now, because of her, David might face the horrific punishments of the Set.

No one knows where David went after he lost Ara, but she can only hope he's the one leaving subtle clues for her to discover, and it makes her desperate to find him--desperate enough that she would risk her life, hanging out with an informant who means to kill her. What truths she is told about David's dark past, though, will threaten to change her heart and destroy the way Ara perceives everything. She must ask herself if it's right to love one monster, then hate the one who tried to destroy her.

In all her searching, the promise of immortality will finally be renewed, but sold at a price Ara's not sure she's willing to pay.

Is love enough to make her submit to this new role, or will it fail her once again and leave her reaching back for the grasp of death?

First of all, stellar cover. I love, love, LOVE it. It's gorgeous. Love the font, the colors, everything. Gorgeous.

Ok... so The Heart's Ashes was sent to me as an advanced copy by the author, A.M. Hudson. And I'm really upset with myself that it took so long to read it. Because it truly is a wonderful book. I've just been in this funk which has resulted in a reading slump, so I wasn't doing much of ANYTHING. I got some reading done at my family reunion but that was about it.

Anyway... I'm not sure what I can say about this book that won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it (or the previous novels in the series)... so I will tell you there are a lot of twists and turns and TONS of surprises. This story leaves me with conflicting feelings for a character that played a terrible role in the last installment. I wanted to hate him... but I found myself liking him more than I probably should have being that he was a "bad guy".

David and Mike are true to form. Forever the gallant and chivalrous protectors. That's what is so wonderful about them, though. You don't find enough of that in real life anymore. It's nice to be able to find them in books. Emily is a tad bit different in this story, but I suppose anyone in her situation would have a little attitude adjustment. And poor Ara. There's some serious head-screwing with where she's concerned. She can't tell which way is up sometimes. Sure she has her moments... she is still a teenage girl, after all. But she goes through a LOT in this story so you've got to hand it to her.

Like I said before, I LOVED the story. Everything about it. If you've read the first two in the series, definitely grab this one as soon as you can.

Book Trailer: The Lure of Shapinsay by Krista Holle

Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant.

Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure.

Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?

Looks like an interesting story. What do you all think? Check it out HERE on Goodreads.

Stacking the Shelves #1

Thanks to Tynga from Tynga's Reviews for hosting Stacking the Shelves every week.

I say every week, but this is my first StS post so... anyways.

I've been kind of out of touch with book blogging the last couple of months. I know I've apologized for it before.. but I've been kind of out of touch with reading. And I'm not sure why. But I'm back. And I'm working on getting back in the swing of things so thanks for being patient with me.

Like I said in my last post, I've been babysitting my nieces for the last few weeks. The other day we went to Michael's (the craft store) for the makings for our Harry Potter themed day. Much to my surprise, I also snagged 4 books there. All for just $1. Of course I couldn't pass them up, especially being the books that they were.

I'm desperately trying to get my girls and my nieces to live reading so I couldn't help myself.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Johanna Spyri's classic story of a young orphan sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps is retold in it's entirety in this beautifully bound hardcover edition. Heidi has charmed and intrigued readers since it's original publication in 1880. Much more than a children's story, the narrative is also a lesson on the precarious nature of freedom, a luxury too often taken for granted. Heidi almost loses her liberty as she is ripped away from the tranquility of the mountains to tend to a sick cousin in the city. Happily, all's well that ends well, and the reader is left with only warm, fuzzy thoughts.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

In picturesque nineteenth-century New England, tomboyish Jo, beautiful Meg, fragile Beth, and romantic Amy come of age while their father is off to war.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

 A horse is a horse of course unless of course the horse is Black Beauty. Animal-loving children have been devoted to Black Beauty throughout this century, and no doubt will continue through the next.
Although Anna Sewell's classic paints a clear picture of turn-of-the-century London, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness.
Black Beauty tells the story of the horse's own long and varied life, from a well-born colt in a pleasant meadow to an elegant carriage horse for a gentleman to a painfully overworked cab horse.
Throughout, Sewell rails - in a gentle, 19th-century way - against animal maltreatment. Young readers will follow Black Beauty's fortunes, good and bad, with gentle masters as well as cruel. Children can easily make the leap from horse-human relationships to human-human relationships, and begin to understand how their own consideration of others may be a benefit to all.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

 Intended at first as a simple story of a boy's adventures in the Mississippi Valley-a sequel to Tom Sawyer-the book grew and matured under Twain's hand into a work of immeasurable richness and complexity. More than a century after its publication, the critical debate over the symbolic significance of Huck's and Jim's voyage is still fresh, and it remains a major work that can be enjoyed at many levels: as an incomparable adventure story and as a classic of American humor.

What did you all get this week?

Adventures in Babysitting: Harry Potter Edition

So I've been babysitting my nieces for the last few weeks. My sister's German au pair (and my friend ::sad face::) left to go home and she had no one else to watch them. So... cue my entrance. I must say, I am the greatest auntie in the world. We've been to an insect zoo, a civil war museum, the pet store, the SPCA, the movies to watch Ice Age 4, the pool... they've played with snakes and brought home frogs from church.

Unfortunately, I'd packed all of my awesome into the last couple of weeks and as of yesterday, I'd run out of things to do. Or at least, that's what I thought. Thanks to ideas from my wonderful boyfriend however, I quickly came up with rainy day funness and so more awesomeness ensued.

First we went to the craft store for clay and poster board and crayons, etc. Then to Walmart for Cream Soda, Butterscotch pudding, and some Powerade Zeros for myself.

We got home and I went to work drawing up posters with a name of each one of the Tri-Wizard Tournament contestants. So four posters total. I put a number with each name and had the girls pick a number randomly and then gave them the poster that corresponded with said number. Then they got to work decorating their "cheerleading" posters.

While they did that I got to work on my own project (this is where the polymer clay comes in). I'd always wanted to try making something out of clay... so I attempted a little Severus Snape and a little Quidditch Broom. Results were not wonderful, but they weren't bad for my first try.

See? Not horrible. But like I said... not wonderful either. I'm sure if I keep trying I'll get better. Who knows.

The girls finished up their posters and I moved on to phase 2 of their Harry Potter night. Butterbeer. I poured about 2-3 cups of Cream Soda into the blender, added a ton of ice and two Butterscotch Pudding cups, and turned it on high for a minute et voila. Frozen Butterbeer. Yum. Got Goblet of Fire into the DVD player, passed out the Butterbeer and had the girls sit down with their posters. And there they've been ever since.

Hooray for Harry Potter. I may not be able to get them to actually read the books, but at least I can get them to watch the movies and enjoy those.

Cheers!

Cover Reveal - Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling "Tiger's Curse" series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all.

The cover is gorgeous. Just like all the previous in the series. What do you guys think?

Follow Friday #43

Thanks to Parajunkee and Alison Can Read for hosting Follow Friday ever week! You girls are awesome!

This week's question:

Q: Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don’t like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.

A: I have. I'm really a fantasy/paranormal kind of person... but when I worked at the YMCA in the nursery during the summer we were really slow. There were times we had zero children to watch so one day I asked my dad to bring me a book. He brought me Rage by Jonathan Kellerman and Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell. Both the True Crime kind of novels. They were both very exciting reads and I highly recommend both authors. Every once in a while it's fun to step outside of the box and read something different. These novels didn't have the long slow build up that a lot of fantasy novels have because they're trying to explain entire worlds and different creatures and things. They're set in modern day real world and everything is already set up. These were kind of like watching an episode of Law and Order, but in book form. Very good.

How about you guys? Every genre jump and love it?