Glimmer (Zellie Wells #2).

"Zellie Wells' life is changing. Her relationship with Avery is growing stronger every day, but their parents are still giving them ultimatums and trying to keep them apart. Her newly discovered powers have all but disappeared. Benjamin, another young Retroact, is back and has brought with him a painful shared vision and a troubled past. While working together to figure out what the vision means, Zellie discovers that Benjamin is a worthy friend and mentor. If only he could keep his hands off of her-if only she wanted him to..."-Goodreads.


Stacey Benefiel did a very cool thing and emailed out codes to get her books from SmashWords for people to review. I had been wanting to read them so I was not going to pass up the opportunity. I really enjoyed Glimpse. It was different from everything that I had been reading so it was refreshing. Going into Glimmer, I had high hopes of it being as good as Glimpse.
Now, it was not bad, but parts of it just were not necessarily my cup of tea. One of the biggest parts of the story is Zellie and Avery trying to have sex together. Then you have Ben talking about all of his previous partners AND trying to hook up with Zellie. And then there is Christopher with his ghost boyfriend who "satisfies him" with his energy. The sexual themes in this book were just too much for me. It actually surprised me considering it's a YA book. It is definitely for the older end of the YA spectrum.
The rest of the story is pretty good though. You get to learn more about The Society and their involvement with the retroacts and this book sets up nicely for the next book "Glow" which will be published in 2011 sometime.
If you liked the first one and sexual themes do not bother you, then you will probably enjoy this one.
I'd rate it a 3 1/2.

2011 Debutante Event.

While looking for some new blogs to follow I stumbled upon that is really cool. And has a totally awesome giveaway going right now.

"From the 1st-25th of December, Badass Bookie is going to be your guide to next year's hottest debuts! My lovely Debs just simply can't wait to meet you all so they are debuting early! Everything you need to know about your Debs and their amazing book will be here! Oh! and did I mention Giveaways Galore? Not only do you guys get to know the Debs better, YOU also get to win their books!!!"- Badass Bookie

That is what's going on.  It's a help-spread-the-word contest too. Tweet about it, blog about it, add the event button to your blog, let all of your book loving friends know about it, fill out the form and you could win some pretty awesome stuff. To find out everything and get a glance at some of the possible prizes go HERE.

And make sure you check back so that you can get the low down from all the 2011 up and comers.

My Dearest Harry Potter.

I finally saw The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 tonight with my husband. A lot of people I know talk about all the differences from the books to the movie, but I enjoyed it a bunch. They are some of my favorite movies.
I have made a pact with myself though, that before the last movie comes out I will read all the books. I think that should be a pretty neat challenge for the next year.
Have you seen the movie yet? Did you like it?
Have you read the books and if you have do you like the books or the movies better? Or are they equal in your eyes?
Tell me, I'd love to know.

The Lying Game.

"I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thePretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Let the lying game begin."-Goodreads.

By Sara Shepard. 307 Pages. HarperTeen.

Provided by: NetGalley.

   I love Pretty Little Liars the TV show and had been wanting to read the series but not while I was watching the show too (I thought that might get a little confusing).  So when I found out Sara Shepard had another series and the first book was available for request on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to get it and read it. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. One page you think you have figured out just what happened and just who did it, but then you turn the page and you start suspecting someone else entirely different.

   The story is told from Sutton's point of view, who was killed and now her spirit is watching her long-lost twin sister Emma try and be Sutton while she tries to solve her murder all while trying to not get killed herself.

   The twist and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, but were not overwhelming. I found myself starting to like a couple of the characters just to have that turned on me and those characters be made the murder suspects. That happened a couple of times so I finally decided it was probably better not to get attached to anyone, but that is going to be so hard because the characters are made to be so likeable. 

   The last couple of chapters had really good twists and then a cliffhanger that left me craving more. I cannot wait for the second book. Thank goodness it's not that long of a wait.

"Never Have I Ever (The Lying Game #2)" comes out April 8th 2011. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know a lot of people are putting everything they are thankful for on their blogs today, but there is way too much that I am thankful for to list it all here. From my husband to the ability to go to the store and buy books practically anytime I want to being able to cook such a feast on this day of gorging. Not everyone has the ability or resources to do all the stuff that I get to do and live life the way I live it, and I definitely remember to thank God everyday for blessing me so much.
I hope you take the time today to look around you and find a few things to be thankful for.
Have a great day! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Frostbite (Vampire Academy Book #2)-Banned Book.

"Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians—including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks….This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…"-Goodreads.

   This one I enjoyed a lot, so much in fact that I finished it pretty quickly. The story kept moving the whole time, and unfortunately, Richelle Mead ended the chapters in such a way that made you want to keep going. Not fair...because I did keep going, really late into the night. My husband will probably be contacting Richelle here pretty soon asking her not to do that anymore so that he doesn't have to deal with a grumpy, sleep deprived wife. 

   There is a trifecta of guys and Rose has to figure out which one is right for her and worth her time (I think I'm still Team Dimitri...but now I have a bit of a crush on Adrian so I'll have to see where that goes in the next one).
   Her mom in her life again and is pretty stern about Rose changing how she acts about life and her guardianship and Rose has to learn how to deal with that without help from anyone really, because her best friend is to involved with her boyfriend to really hang out and talk with her much. The only person who is trying to help her cope with everything is Dimitri and that in itself is difficult because Rose wants to be with him and he has started showing interest in someone else.
  Dang, poor Rose. So much is on her plate in this story.

    I related to Rose more in this book. There were times when I just couldn't stop thinking "Whoa...that's what I would have done and/or said." I liked those parts because they usually ended up okay, which made me feel smart. And I knew how she felt with the whole "in love with one guy but he tells you you two cannot be together for certain reasons so you try dating someone else and it just doesn't seem to really work" thing. Yeah, been there, done that. But I am now married to that very same guy who told me we couldn't be together....so maybe there is still hope for Dimitri and Rose! This revelation has made my night.

   I'm not even going to lie to you...............I cried. Yeah, it's one of "those" books. But that just makes it feel all the more real.

   Now, onto the Banned Book part. This one, along with the entire series was banned in a school district in Texas for sexual content and nudity. Yes, there is a bit of fooling around, but before you read anything that happens between these two people a fade to black kind of thing happens. Would I suggest it to my 13 yr old cousin? No. But then again this is a young adult, and I don't consider her a young adult just yet. Seriously though, the scene would barely make a parent blink if they saw it in a pg-13 movie with their kid, but when it's in a book it's bad enough to be banned from the entire district? That is just a bit silly.

Entice by Carrie Jones (book trailer)

This is one of my favorite series and I cannot wait til this one is released.

Come on December 14th!