100 Follower Giveaway! - CLOSED

Hey all! As promised, here is the 100 follower giveaway post! Due to my overly generous nature *pff, please* I'll be giving away a copy of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer to one lucky person. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars; you can read my review HERE. And HERE is Nightshade's GoodReads page

All you have to do is be a follower of this blog and/or a subscriber on my Youtube channel!

I've made this a requirement because this giveaway is to show my gratitude towards all of you lovely people who read my blog on a regular basis, but I will be hosting a non-follower giveaway in a couple of weeks!

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

Contest Information:

+ Entrants must be 13 years of age or older.

+ ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. If you've accidentally entered twice, then mail me so I know you're not trying to cheat!

+ Open to followers/subscribers only.

+ This contest is INTERNATIONAL.

+ Contest deadline is January 22, 2011

Good luck everyone, and thank you so much for reading my blog and/or watching my videos!

Another Update: [Insert Original, Humourous Name Here]

Hello fellow readers!


How are you all doing? Good, I hope. And I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas/holiday and are looking forward to 2011! I know I certainly am. 


I know I've been absent this week, but I've been so busy with family events and other stuff like that, I've not had time to blog. And obviously, however much I disagree, family stuff has to come before reading and blogging. *sad face*


I just wanted to let you all know that I am here, I'm alive, and I now have 110 followers on this blog, and 100 subscribers on my Youtube channel! Have you figured out what that means yet? 


That's right, I'm hosting my first giveaway! It's only going to be a little one, but I think most of you will enjoy it :) I'll let you in on it tomorrow when I have time to make a video to go along with the post! So make sure you stop by for that.


Have a lovely day/evening/night everybody!


Amber

In My Mail Box - (11)

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas day yesterday, and if you don't celebrate Christmas then I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!


IMM is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, and although she's not hosting this week, I thought I'd share what books I got this week with all of you lovely people!

I'll be adding a list and Amazon/Goodreads links later, I'm off to get some food!


In other news, I'm just 7 subscribers (on my YT channel) off from hosting my giveaway, so if you haven't subscribed yet and would like a chance at winning a free book when the time comes, subscribe/follow now! :D


Have a good week everyone.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas all of you wonderful, wonderful people! I hope you and your families have a brilliant day today/tomorrow, and you get everything you wish for :)


And most of all, I hope you all get an amazing pile of books! I look forward to seeing all of your book hauls/IMMs! 


Much love, 


Amber
<3

End of 2010 Survey

This wonderful survey was created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. I've already done a Youtube video on this survey, but thought I would do a blog post as well.

1. Best Book of 2010?

The best book that I read this year was Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. There are several reasons why it was my favourite, which you can read by clicking and reading my review. I think it sums up my thoughts quite nicely. There were a few books that I thought were really great, but Before I Fall was just a notch above the rest.

2. Worst Book of 2010?

This one was fairly easy to choose, because it's not very often that I dislike a book. But one that I really didn't like was Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton. Something about the writing style and the character development just didn't do it for me.

3. Most Disappointing Book of 2010?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth was the most disappointing read for me. I had heard so many amazing things about this book, but I didn't feel that it lived up to the hype surrounding it. Everyone seemed to love the main character Mary, but I really don't understand why. Again, it's probably best if you read my review!

4. Most Surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010?

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I didn't expect to like love this as much as I did, as I'd heard many mixed things about it. But in the end it turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year. I think Patch was probably the main reason for that.. but still :D

5. Book You Recommended to People the Most in 2010?

This was Before I Fall, because it was my favourite read of the year - how could I not recommend it?

6. Best Series You Discovered in 2010?

The Hunger Games series. I'm so, so happy it was recommended to me! At first, I thought it was a vampire novel for some reason - probably because of the hype around it! - but I was so surprised and I really loved it. I chose this series in particular because it ended this year, and the other series that I read are still going :)

My other choice is The Mortal Intruments series by Cassandra Clare. It was an amazing series, and if it had been a single book then I would have probably picked this for Best Book of 2010. It's an amazing series, very thrilling and exciting, with all-round amazing characters!

7. Favourite New Author/s You discovered in 2010?

Becca Fitzpatrick - author of the Hush, Hush series - and Kiersten White who is the author of Paranormalcy, which is a new YA series launched this year! 

8. Most Hilarious Read of 2010?

I have two choices, again :) The first is Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick because Patch and Nora were both so, so funny. And The Mortal Instruments series was great as well, and Jace had some amazing lines which I absolutely loved. I think that's the reason I love Patch and Jace so much. 

9. Most Thrilling, Unputdownable Book of 2010?

The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The non-stop action was just brilliantly done, and I couldn't put it down!

10. Book You Most Anticipated in 2010?

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick. This was the only book this year that I actually pre-ordered so it would arrive on its release date! 

11. Favourite Book Cover of 2010?

Again, I have two that I really couldn't choose from. The first is Firelight by Sophie Jordan. And the second is Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. They're both stunning covers, and the main reasons I bought these books were for the covers!

12. Most Memorable Character in 2010?

Patch and Jace, from Hush, Hush and The Mortal Instruments. I loved these two, and the other characters pale in comparison - for me, anyway!

13. Most Beautifully Written Book in 2010?

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I just couldn't fault it!

14. Book That Had the Greatest Impact on You in 2010?

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. It really made me think about my life, and things that I had done in the past, and also things that happen all the time in high school. It made me realise that the smallest things had the greatest impact on people, and the tiniest thing could really change peoples' lives. 

15. Book You Can't Believe You Waited Until 2010 to Finally Read?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater; Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick; TMI by Cassandra Clare. 

I can't believe I took so long to discover that YA was a genre all by itself.

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Raised by Wolves #1
Release Date: September 16, 2010
Publisher: Quercus
Rating: Bland

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped? - Goodreads

Raised by Wolves tells the story of a teenage human girl named Bryn, who was quite literally raised by wolves. Werewolves, to be more precise. It follows her journey as she discovers things about her Pack, and even more things about her past. 

After hearing such raving reviews about this when it was first released, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. However, when I started this book last month, it took me a long time to get into. The first 75 or so pages were a pretty mediocre read, they just followed Bryn on her day-to-day life. After that, I had to take a break. When I came back to it, it wasn’t much better, but I carried on reading just so I could get a review out about it. 

I found the plot to be very fast paced once it got going, but it just wasn’t engrossing enough for me. Also, at times, I was left utterly confused about what was happening in the story. Jennifer Lynn Barnes seemed to get lost in her own story, without thinking to explain to the reader. The mystery part of the plot was, however, pretty well done! However, after a certain event in the story, I had to put the book down yet again and just shake my head in disgust. After that, everything seemed to just slip by me as I was reading. The ending wasn’t great. I found it to be rather unbelievable - I know it’s a book about werewolves, but still! - and it all just seemed rather silly. 

The main character, Bryn, was a headstrong and rebellious fifteen year old girl. That’s all I really knew about her personality. To me, she seemed a lot older than 15, and I do think that she should have been made older due to certain events that happen in the book. 

Most of the other characters were mediocre. Callum, the Pack Alpha, was my favourite character to begin with, however I started to hate him after about 150 pages. Chase, the teenage love interest, was extremely bland and didn’t seem to have a personality at all. There was no character development there, and I just didn’t care for him.

I did, however, LOVE Bryn’s best friend Devon, and her female best friend Lake. Out of all of the characters, these two - well, more so Lake than Devon - were the most well thought out and described. I would have loved to have seen more of them!

The writing style was one of the main things that threw me off, and made me dislike the book. There were one word sentences just thrown around, and at first I thought it was pretty cool, as the author was trying to show how wolves think, but the words “Pack” “Mine” “Protect” became extremely repetitive and extremely dull very quickly. 

I probably won’t be reading the sequel any time soon, as this book just didn’t do it for me. 

101 Followers!

So today I finally reached 100 followers on my blog! Well, I actually exceeded 100, because I now have 101! This is AMAZING! And it means we're halfway toward my 100 follower giveaway.


Does that last bit sound confusing? I bet it does, as it looks like I'm contradicting myself. However, I'm not - I promise! The reason this is only halfway toward my 100 follower giveaway, is because the other half of the conditions are for me to reach 100 subscribers on my YouTube channel. 


At the moment, I have 69 (giggle), so we're almost there - but not quite! So stay tuned, and I shall hopefully be announcing the giveaway early in the new year. 


I'm really excited about it!


Thank you all so much! I love that you all read and comment. Even if I don't always reply to you as fast as I probably should, I do read each and every comment and sit there with a massive grin on my face. I'm grinning now! 


I think everyone should join in with my happy dance :D

In My Mailbox - (10)

I'm sure most of you already know what the meme In My Mailbox is, but just in case..

IMM is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. The aim is to share with everyone what books you received each week in the form of a list, pictures or a video. I really love this meme, as it's helped me discover a lot of books that I wouldn't have otherwise known about! 

So, without further ado, here is my IMM for the week starting from Monday 13th December. Kristi isn't hosting IMM again until the new year, but I wanted to do this anyway :)

Books:

Unwind by Neal Shusterman (Goodreads|Amazon)

Matched by Ally Condie (Goodreads|Amazon)

Book Blogger Hop (4)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-For-Books in which you answer a weekly question, and then go and chat with other bloggers about their answers!

This week's question is:

"What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the character?"

I think both are equally as important. Without a strong plot then a good character would make no difference. There would be nothing good for the character to do! But then, a strong plot with an annoying character.. I would hate that too. A character drives the story, and without them it wouldn't have a plot!

Question:

What did you study in college, or are currently studying and did it lead to your current 9 to 5 or are you doing something totally different?

I'm still in high school studying A Levels. I have another year to go after this one, so I'll finish high school in 2012 :) I'm currently studying ICT, Biology and English Literature, as well as teaching myself Spanish - if that counts ;)

Book Review: Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan

Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze...
Before he was a vampire.
Larten Crepsley was a boy.


As a child labourer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children.


In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.


This is his story. - Goodreads


This is the first book in the new four book saga by Darren Shan. It’s the highly anticipated prequel to his previous saga - The Saga of Darren Shan - and it’s all about a certain Mr Larten Crepsley! Words cannot describe how excited I was to read this book, as I loved Shan’s previous saga, as well as the Demonata series, and Mr Crepsley is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time!


The book is split into four parts, which all cover different sections of Larten’s life as a vampire assistant, and then as a vampire. This creates a fast moving plot with a lot of action thrown in. That’s not to say that the book is just for teenage lads who want to see some killing, oh no. It’s quite the opposite. There’s some pretty sentimental and emotional stuff in there too, and I was in tears at one point. 


For anyone who’s read The Saga of Darren Shan (TSDS), you will know Larten Crepsley, but this book lets you in on his background and his past. You find out why he has bright orange hair, and you begin to understand why he was the way he was in TSDS. I loved Larten in this book, he was brave and funny, and at the same time very flawed as a person and he certainly had his demons. 


The other characters were simply amazing. Every single one of them was beautifully developed and described. I loved meeting Seba Nile - Larten’s mentor - again, and I loved visiting Vampire Mountain and seeing all of those familiar names. There were also many connections to events and people in TSDS thrown in, even if we didn’t meet/see them first hand. Which was simply AWESOME! I’m particularly excited to see what happens with Wester - you’ll know who I mean when you read the book. He’s a great character.


Overall, I highly recommend this book but you should read TSDS first, as I did, so you get a feel for his writing, and also so you can make all of the connections that I did! 

Rating: 4/5

Amazon US|Book Depository

Series: The Saga of Larten Crepsley #1

Published on September 30th, 2010 by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks

Edition: UK Hardcover, 261 pages

ISBN: 0007315856

City of Fallen Angels Cover Revealed!

I know I said that I wasn't going to post, but I couldn't concentrate on my coursework after I saw this. If any of you have read Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series and loved it, then you've probably been waiting just as expectantly as I have for this cover to be revealed.


Without further ado, here it is:

I... I'm not sure if I like it. *Cries*. The bottom part is gorgeous, and matches up with the rest of the books really well. Plus, the swirls and patterns are stunning, but I don't like seeing Clary's face. It just doesn't seem right to me that her face is in full view, whereas on the previous covers the faces have been half chopped off. 

And the model for Clary looks really old as well. Couldn't they have found a younger one? I love her hair though! It's so pretty. 

Overall, I'm not a fan. But who cares about the cover? I think this is one book/series I will make an exception for. I refuse to judge this book by it's cover because I know it's going to be AWESOME! 

What do you guys think of the cover?

City of Fallen Angels is going to be released in April, 2011. *Cheers*

Update

Hey everyone,


I just wanted to let you all know that it's unlikely that I will be posting much this week, as it's the last week of school before the Christmas break and there's a lot of stuff that I need to get done. However, I do finish school on Friday, so I'm hoping to get a review of Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan up by the weekend. And then of course there's In My Mailbox!


I hope you all have a great week, and I'll speak to you all soon!

In My Mailbox (9)

IMM is a meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren. Basically, you just take a picture/make a video showing what you got in the mail this past week. Pretty simple, yes? So, here's what I got this past week.

Received via NetGalley:

Outside In by Maria V. Snyder (Harlequin TEEN)

One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen (Harlequin TEEN)

Received for Review:

Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling (Puffin)

Flash of a Firefly by Amber Riley

The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton

A huge thank you to Puffin, Harlequin, Amber and Lori for providing these books for review! I can't wait to get stuck in!

The Wereworld book is also part of a blog tour during January, so check back here then to see my review, and there is also going to be a special surprise for you all!

Have a great week everyone!

Book Blogger Hop (3)

The Book Blogger Hop meme is hosted by Crazy For Books every week. All you basically do is answer the weekly book related question, and then link your blog on the list. Pretty simple, yes?


This week's question is:

"What is the thing you like most about reading book blogs?  Is it the reviews, author guest posts, articles, giveaways, or something else entirely?"

I enjoy reading everything. As long as the post is well written and the blog is well laid out, I love to read anything a book blogger posts. One of my favourite things to do is read posts discussing various different matters like e-books; and I love reading reviews on book that I have already read because I like seeing how different/similar my experiences with the book were!

Top 100 YA Books

I saw this list over at The Bookish Type.

I have read the books in bold (35)

In italics are books I own.

I have underlined the books on my wishlist

1. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
4. Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass), Philip Pullman
6. The Truth About Forever, Sarah Dessen
7. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
8. The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton
9. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
10. This Lullaby, Sarah Dessen
11. Looking for Alaska, John Green
12. Just Listen, Sarah Dessen
13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
14. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
15. City of Bones, Cassandra Clare
16. On the Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta
17. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
19. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
20. Along for the Ride, Sarah Dessen
21. Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater 
22. Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead
23. Graceling, Kristin Cashore
24. Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher
25. Sloppy Firsts, Megan McCafferty
26. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
27. Alanna: The First Adventure, Tamora Pierce
28. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
29. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
30. Uglies, Scott Westerfeld
31. A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray
32. Tomorrow, When the War Began, John Marsden
33. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
34. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
35. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
36. Paper Towns, John Green
37. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
38. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
39. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Betty Smith
40. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie
41. Lock and Key, Sarah Dessen
42. The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman
43. Evernight, Claudia Gray
44. Sabriel, Garth Nix
45. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
46. Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
47. Forever, Judy Blume
48. I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
49. Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
50. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
51. Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli
52. Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
53. The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper
54. Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
55. Saving Francesca, Melina Marchetta
56. Second Helpings, Megan McCafferty
57. Dreamland, Sarah Dessen
58. Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
59. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
60. Fire, Kristin Cashore
61. The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier
62. Weetzie Bat, Francesca Lia Block
63. The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
64. Looking for Alibrandi, Melina Marchetta
65. How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff
66. City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
67. Keeping the Moon, Sarah Dessen
68. Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
69. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
70. If I Stay, Gayle Forman
71. The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
72. Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson
73. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, Robin McKinley
74. The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley
75. Feed, M.T. Anderson
76. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Ann Brashares
77. Go Ask Alice, Anonymous
78. Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr
79. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
80. Someone Like You, Sarah Dessen
81. The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan
82. Jacob Have I Loved, Katherine Paterson
83. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness
84. Poison Study, Maria V. Snyder
85. Shadow Kiss, Richelle Mead
86. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi
87. An Abundance of Katherines, John Green
88. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon
89. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L’Engle
90. Glass Houses, Rachel Caine
91. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I:The Pox Party, M.T. Anderson
92. Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech
93. Whale Talk, Chris Crutcher
94. Perfect Chemistry, Simone Elkeles
95. Going Too Far, Jennifer Echols
96. The Last Song, Nicholas Sparks
97. Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver
98. Hatchet, Gary Paulsen
99. The Pigman, Paul Zindel
100. The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

Forget Me Not (2)

Forget Me Not is a new meme hosted by Steph at The Thoughts of a Book Junky. The idea is to show off a book that is fairly old, but one that you still love and enjoy.

This week, I'm going to be introducing (or reintroducing) you all to the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.

Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind.

- Goodreads

Does this sound good to you? Before I read this book, I hadn't heard much about it - I read it in middle school, and none of my friends had read it - but I picked it up after someone mentioned that it's a good read about an autistic child. I'm so happy I picked it up, because it really is amazing!

Has anyone else read this? If so, what did you think? If not, then are you interested in reading it? 

Have a great week everyone!