Glow by Amy Cathleen Ryan *Giveaway*!

"What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue? 

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside."-GoodReads.

So I feel bad. I haven't been posting that much recently, mostly because I am having a hard time writing my reviews. Metal block, big time. So I have decided to have a giveaway.

I have an ARC of Glow that I would love to share with someone.

So I am going to make this easy. Leave a comment with your email address. Or if you don't want to leave your email address, email me at fireflybookloft@gmail.com and let me know you want to be entered. BUT if you do that, you still need to leave a comment so that everyone's name will be in order when I do the drawing.

Giveaway will end October 4th so get to entering!

*EDITED TO ADD: I am sorry I forgot to mention this when I first posted the giveaway (as I always seem to when posting giveaways) this is for US residents only, unless you have a US address I can ship the book to if you win. I just don't have the money to be shipping over seas. So I am sorry international folk. Hopefully soon I will be able to hold one for y'all too :)*

Good luck!

Bug Island by R. G. Cordiner

"They destroyed the mighty Mayan Empire. What hope for a few shipwrecked survivors?

A South American cruise. It should have been a once in a lifetime experience. And it was. But not in the way they imagined. Barely surviving a horrific shipwreck, the remaining passengers have to try and cope with finding food, water, shelter, let alone the constant arguments.

And then there are the bugs. Not the sort that you squish and then get on with your day. Oh no. Toe biters, pond skaters, assassin bugs and harvestmen that drop down on top of their victims – all of these could be found in your garden. But on this lost island they are all at least twenty times their normal size. Trapped on an island with a six metre long giant centipede with armoured plates was not on the cruise itinerary. Now all they want is to get off – without being squished!

“Anyone pack the bug spray?”"-GoodReads.

Kindle Edition

Published October 31st 2010

Campy horror movies are kind of my thing. My mom and I used to get snacks and hang out on the couch all day on Saturdays just to watch whatever silly movies SciFi had playing. So when I read Bug Island's synopsis I knew it would be a fun read. It's not a long story and not in-depth but it did make me giggle. 


I've only read one Stephen King book, but how Bug Island was written reminded me of it in the way that R. G. Cordiner jumps around from character to character a lot. That bothered me at first (as it did in King's novel) because I felt like I wasn't really getting to know any of the characters. I would have liked to have been able to favor at least one person over the others and root for them to not get eaten. But I eventually settled on the fact that I wasn't going to get to know anyone that well. Instead of hoping for a certain character not to get eaten I started bets with myself on who would be the next to go. I think that was a pretty fair trade.


Bug Island is littered with onamonapias (the fact that this book allowed me to use that word in my review makes me want to give it extra cool points). Every time a bug was around there were things like "CRRRKKK", which I didn't mind, but have seen that it bothers other readers, so here is your fair warning. Their noises aren't described, but actually put in onto the page.


Also a fair warning, the formatting is a bit off. Sometimes there are only a couple lines and some bug noises on a page  which at times makes the story feel a bit choppy.


 If you are rolling your eyes at the description, then this book probably isn't for you. But if you want something kinda campy and fun, give Bug Island a shot. It didn't blow me away, but it most certainly was a fun book, and one that I probably won't soon forget. Especially the ending, which was just as out there and unbelievable as I was hoping it would be.

But I Love Him by Amanda Grace

" Tonight was so much worse than anything before it. Tonight he didn't stop after the first slap.

At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved — and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything — and everyone — in its path.

This evocative slideshow of flashbacks reveals a heartbreaking story of love gone terribly wrong."-GoodReads.

Paperback, 245 pages

                                                                  Published May 8th 2011 by Flux (first published May 1st 2011)

Sociology was one of my favorite studies in college, as was psychology. So naturally I 

am drawn to books about people with "issues". I find the human mind and how it works

in different situations fascinating. Unfortunately, that was not the case with "But I Love

Him". I was far from fascinated. Mostly, I think, because it is told in reverse 

chronological order. Starting with day 365 working back to day 1, when it all began.

Basically it was being thrown right into the climax of the story. But I didn't know

who the characters were or how they got to where they were. I didn't know about all

the pain Ann had already gone through. And I had no idea what was causing Connor

to act the way he was.

And since I was technically reading the story from end to beginning, seeing Connor

at his worst first, then slowly working my way back to where he was sweet, decent,

and a good boyfriend, made me not be able to feel for his situation. I didn't like him

right off the bat. And that is CRUCIAL to these kinds of stories. You need to show

me what Ann saw in Connor, why she loved him enough to stick around and be

beat by him.

There was a line in the book that made me livid. Ann says "and I know that when

the anger is gone, and he's back, he will cry for what he's done to me. He'll mean

every word he says, every apology. But it won't stop it from happening again." p.64

Yeah, that doesn't happen. The abused doesn't think that way. They truly believe

that when they are told that "that was the last time I will ever hit you" is really the last 

time. And I'm sorry, but if he is apologizing and really "means" every word, but you

know it won't stop, then he doesn't actually mean what he is saying.

There were also two things that I wish had been explained better. First, why did she

stay with him? When I saw how many red flags were shown in their first couple of weeks

together, I wonder why she didn't get out before she was in too deep. It made very little

sense. 

But my biggest question would have to have been, why was Connor that way?

Connor's father is abusive to his mother when he's drunk, which would cause me

to believe that Connor would become abusive after drinking since things like that are

hereditary. But he didn't drink. He was always sober when he got angry. And the 

weirdest things set him off.

It just didn't come off a psychologically sound story.

Too many aspects thrown into one story to try and make it heart-breaking. Which it

was to a point. I felt sad for Ann that she thought she had to stay with Connor to feel

needed and loved.

But this was definitely not one of the "better" and more believable abusive boyfriend stories. 

It lost me too many times, so I rarely felt connected to the story or characters which, in the 

 end, made me care little about what happened.

6 Month Book Buying Ban.

With about a hundred books on my book shelf and well over a hundred books on my Kindle I'm starting to feel swamped. Especially since about 40 of the books on my Kindle are NetGalley review books I need to get to. Oh yeah, and the Galley Grab books I've been dying to read that keep running out because I don't have time to get to them. I don't like staring longingly at certain books on my shelves wishing I could read them but then seeing all the other ones I need to get to, as well. So I've made a pretty tough decision.

I am going on a 6 month book buying ban.

I know what you are probably thinking. "6 months of not buying books?!"  Sounds crazy right? And it might very well be, but it will be good for me...and my shelves...and my bank account. 

However, I will still accept review books (including NetGalley and Galley Grab). And since there are a couple books (okay, more like a million) coming out that I want I have decided to give myself a 2 book a month allowance. As long as I am making progress with all my other books. That way I won't be cutting myself off entirely and I won't end up lying on the floor with shakes and in a cold sweat in some kind of book buying withdrawal.

My goal for the next 6 months is 60 books. 10 books a month seems pretty doable to me.

So even though I feel a bit crazy limiting my buying so much, it makes me feel better because I hate feeling behind, and every time I bring more books home and watch my pile grow it makes me feel very very behind.

And who knows, if this makes my current to be read pile go down fast I might end it sooner.

So what about you? Do you think a book buying ban is in order every now and again? Or do you not really care how many books you have to read? 

If you were going to go on or have done a ban, what are/were your goals?

Hunger Games "teaser"

Alright, ladies and gents. MTV just premiered The Hunger Games teaser trailer and it is BLOWING UP my twitter feed. Just in case you missed it check it out HERE.
I didn't watch but about 15 minutes of the VMAs because I hate award shows, but I desperately wanted to see this "footage" they were premiering, so I tuned in for a bit.

I was a bit disappointed honestly. I know it was only supposed to be a teaser, but it should have been more then 5 seconds long. Even after only having to sit through 15 minutes of the show it was a bit anticlimactic....but then again it still made me really excited. The movie is really REALLY happening!
So I guess previews don't really matter as long as the movie is amazing.
I would like to know what YOU thought though. Did you watch the entire award show? Was it worth it?
Let me know!

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

"How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart."-GoodReads.

Hardcover, 496 pages                                                         

                                                                            Published May 31st 2011 by HarperTeen

                                                                            Source: HarperTeen via NetGalley.

Starcrossed is an amazing Greek Mythology retelling. Probably my favorite so far. At almost 500 pages it may seem a little daunting, but it is so fantastically told that I hardly even noticed how long it was.

And being that long really allows for story and characters to development. Angelini also takes the time to introduce readers to the world of Greek Mythology, instead of assuming that they already know the myths. But don't worry, it is informative but it does not read like a history book.

What I truly loved about Starcrossed is that it is not about the Greek Gods directly, but about the Scions- or demigods as more people may know them- and how 'The Houses' are fighting due to past transgressions that the Fates keep repeating throughout history. 
High school relationships are hard enough as it is, but then you add in the Furies trying to get you to rip apart a family you haven't even been formally introduced to and then falling for the very guy the Fates have dictated you are supposed to kill. And then on top of that, finding out that if you and the aforementioned guy do find a way to be together, you cannot really be together-together or all the Heavens and Hell will break loose and a war will be started. The entire fate of The Houses rest upon Helen's and Lucas's shoulders. As long as they can control their raging teen hormones they should be okay, right? Yeah, I guess that is easier said then done.

Helen was an okay character. Not my favorite female protagonist, but definitely not my least favorite. It was just a bit hard to relate to her at times since one of her biggest problems in life is dealing with being a model look-a-like and not enjoying the attention she gets because of that. She is sweet and likable, I just enjoyed the Delos family much more. What an array of characters they were. I am loving books where the secondary characters really stand out and help make the story. In Starcrossed I got that with Helen's best friend Claire. She was a fun girl to have around. Very lively and a great best friend.
Lucas on his own was also an alright character. He was a much stronger and more likable character when he was with his family or around Helen. He may not have reached "book boyfriend" status for me, but he and Helen were great when they were together. The tension, the longing, the need to kill the other. It was all just so romantic.


So if you have not had very good luck with finding a Greek Mythology book that you like lately (as was the case with me), but you still kind of want to give this one a shot, do it. As I said before, even if you don't know the myths, Starcrossed does a wonderful job of telling them in the story. 
Or maybe you are a Greek myth book trip and just cannot get enough of them. Starcrossed will not disappoint and it most definitely satiate your desire for another great myth read.

For All The Harry Potter Fans.

This video was the sweetest so I thought I would share :)

Pretty cool huh? In all honesty it kind of made me tear up. I'm going to miss all of the Harry Potter excitement because it sometimes feels like I grew up right along side this characters. What am I going to do now that it's all over?