Showcase Sunday #31

 

Showcase Sunday is a new weekly Meme that I am taking part of. This weekly meme is hosted by Vicky over at Book, Biscuits and Tea and for more info click on the SS image which will take you straight to the blog. Click on the titles of the books to take you to Goodreads.

 

Books Mentioned in vlog:

Review Books/Physical Books

Prodigy by Marie Lu (Penguin Publishers)
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (Penguin Publishers)
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger (Atom Publishers)


Kindle Books/Review Books

Crossroads by J.J. Bonds (Free from Amazon)
Shattered by Sophia Sharp (Free from Amazon)
The Demon's Daughter by Paula Altenburg (Review copy from Publishers Entangled)
Dead Radiance by T.G. Ayer (Gifted from author when she saw it on my wishlist on Goodreads!)
Dead Embers by T.G. Ayer (T.G. Ayer also sent me the second book!)
Blood Calling by Joshua Grover-David Patterson (Free from Amazon)
Her Mad Hatter by Marie Hall (Free from Amazon and I for one can't wait to read this book!)
Against the Wall by Julie Prestsater (Free from Amazon)
Beautiful Mess by Lucy V. Morgan (Free fom Amazon)
A Dark Kiss of Rapture by Sylvia Day (Free from Amazon)
Bad Apple by Barbara Morgenroth (Free from Amazon)
Offside by Juliana Stone (Free from Amazon)
Falling for Nick by Joleen James (Free from Amazon)
Close to You by Kate Perry (Book 2/Free from Amazon)
Savor by Megan Duncan (Free from Amazon)
Ravenous by Erica Stevens (Free from Amazon)
Kindred by Erica Stevens (Free from Amazon)
Wish (Upon a Star) by Nadia Scrieva (Free from Amazon)
Lauren by Julia Crane (Free from Amazon)
The Torn Wing by Kiki Hamilton (Book 2/Free from Amazon)
So Into You by Cecilia Gray (Free from Amazon)
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa (Book 2/Review copy from Netgalley)
Existence by Abbi Glines (Been after this one for ages and I can't wait to read it and yes it's free on Amazon!)
Losing It by Cora Carmack (I can't believe I was accepted for this one on Netgalley I can't wait to read it)

Kindle Galleys not mentioned in vlog

Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson
Gameboard of Gods by Richelle Mead (Took ages to get accepted for this one but finally I was)
From Here to Eternity by Paige Cuccaro
The Disgrace of Kitty Grey by Mary Hooper

Birthday Celebrations Giveaway #2 (UK ONLY)

Hi everyone and welcome to my Birthday Celebrations as I have said in the first giveaway I am celebrating my birthday (8th September) as well as my blog turning one!
So this time around I am giving away two (secondhand) Mary Hooper books, Fallen Grace and Velvet for just one luck winner. With these being books that I am sending out myself the giveaway will be UK only! Sorry to all my international followers but I do have a giveaway up and running and another big giveaway on the 19th.

Here's a look at the books so you can see that they are in good condition. If you click on the image it will take you to Mary Hooper's page on Goodreads.

Fallen Grace Blurb:

Grace Parkes has just had to do a terrible thing. Having given birth to an illegitimate child, she has travelled to the famed Brookwood Cemetery to place her small infant's body in a rich lady's coffin. Following the advice of a kindly midwife, this is the only way that Grace can think of to give something at least to the little baby who died at birth, and to avoid the ignominy of a pauper's grave. Distraught and weeping, Grace meets two people at the cemetery: Mrs Emmeline Unwin and Mr James Solent. These two characters will have a profound affect upon Grace's life. But Grace doesn't know that yet. For now, she has to suppress her grief and get on with the business of living: scraping together enough pennies selling watercress for rent and food; looking after her older sister, who is incapable of caring for herself; thwarting the manipulative and conscience-free Unwin family, who are as capable of running a lucrative funeral business as they are of defrauding a young woman of her fortune. A stunning evocation of life in Victorian London, with vivid and accurate depictions, ranging from the deprivation that the truly poor suffered to the unthinking luxuries enjoyed by the rich: all bound up with a pacy and thrilling plot, as Grace races to unravel the fraud about to be perpetrated against her and her sister.

Velvet Blurb:

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry's work is back-breaking and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger ...A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much loved historical writer for teens.

So do you fancy winning this prize? Just enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOTM #11

I have also done a wrap up post on my YouTube channel so if you want to take a peek at what I intend to read in September click on this link -> http://youtu.be/340kb_VGaSc
Here's the books that I read in August:

• Foretold by Jana Oliver ****
• Wake by Amanda Hocking ***
• Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles *****
• Semi-Charmed Life by Nora Zelevansky ***
• Velvet by Mary Hooper ***
• Glitch by Heather Anastasiu ***
• Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto ****

And you may have guessed which book of the month goes to which is...

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

It was an easy choice this month as I only had one five star rating but there was a couple of four stars which came close in the end I can't have a book of the month which is a four star when I have a five star.

I loved this book and I'm a little gutted that this series is now over but I will re-read this series as it's one of my favourite series. For my full review click here.

Book Review: Velvet

Velvet by Mary Hooper

Format: Paperback (arc)
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2nd August 2012
Pages: 336
Main Characters: Velvet
Date Started: 16th August 2012
Date Finished: 20th August 2012
Rating Given: ***

Blurb from Goodreads:

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry's work is back-breaking and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger ...A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much loved historical writer for teens.

I was sent a email about this book from the publishers over at Bloomsbury which I am very grateful of. I had another one of Mary Hooper book so I thought I would give this one a try which I am glad I did as it's something different to what I usually read and I actually liked it.

The cover in a picture it doesn't look anything special but when I received a copy I loved it. I loved the colours as they really stand out and I also loved the flowers around the edges as it gave the book a more elegant look. What I loved the most was the texture of the book as it actually felt like velvet.

I may already have a Mary Hooper book but this is the first one that I have read which I did find an enjoyable read. This is also my first YA historical book which I thought Hooper did a great job of making me actually feel like I was in this time period which not a lot of books can do very successfully. What I also love is the way in which Hooper backs up her story with facts about the time which is found at the back.

What I did find a bit annoying was that in the blurb it stated that this book was 'A romantic and thrilling exciting' but I didn't find it to be any of these. There was some romance but not enough and none of it was believable. There was parts that had me guessing but most of it I guessed what would happen before it did. I did like a different take on the paranormal but that's all I will say on that as it will give too much of the story away. Even though at times I felt bored I still enjoyed it in most parts.

With the character Velvet I found she was a bit gullible and very naive. There was times I just wanted to shake her so she can actually open her eyes to what was going on around her. I am very gullible myself but even I knew what everyone was up to Velvet however didn't. Charlie was a sweet enough character but I thought he should have been in it a lot more than what he was.

Overall an enjoyable read but I just didn't find it grabbed my attention for too long.

It's Monday What Are You Reading? #43

It's Monday What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey in which we plan our reading week!
(Click on images to send you to Goodreads)

Finished Reading

(Click on title for review)

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Semi-Charmed Life by Nora Zelevansky (No review yet)

Velvet by Mary Hooper (No review yet)

Currently Reading

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

Only just started it today and have only read the first chapter but so far it's a bit slow and I'm not into it as of yet but hopefully that will change once I read some more.

Reading Next

Love Lines by Diana Nixon

Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto

So that's what I'm planning on reading this week. What's everyone else reading?

It's Monday What Are You Reading? #42

It's Monday What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey in which we plan our reading week!
(Click on images to send you to Goodreads)

Finished Reading

(Click on title for review)

Foretold by Jana Oliver

Wake by Amanda Hocking

No more Olympics now so I have more time to read.

Currently Reading

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Only just started this yesterday but I am loving it already!

Semi-Charmed Life by Nora Zelevansky

Again not read much but it it did start a bit slow so I'm hoping that it will pick up soon.

Reading Next

Velvet by Mary Hooper

So that's what I am planning on reading this week let me know or leave a link to what you're reading

Showcase Sunday #6

Showcase Sunday is a new weekly Meme that I am taking part of. This weekly meme is hosted by Vicky over at Book, Biscuits and Tea and for more info click on the SS image which will take you straight to the blog. Click on the images of the books to take you to Goodreads.

Swap Books

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I did a swap a couple of weeks ago but instead of a book I received a gift card for the postage and when this book went down to £2.80 I just knew it was the book for me. I have had it on my wishlist for ages but never got around to getting it but at that price who was I to refuse.

Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

Another swap book and another one that I have been after. I love re-tellings so I'm hoping I will love this too.

Review Books

Velvet by Mary Hooper

This book arrived yesterday but I wasn't expecting it at all as it was a few weeks ago when Bloomsbury emailed to see if anyone wanted to review it so I just thought there wasn't enough books available. Thanks to Emma over at Bloomsbury.

Vampire Shift by Tim O'Rourke

Tim O'Rourke contacted me through Facebook to see if I wanted to review his books and seeing as I have been dying to read this series I jumped at the chance and has now sent me an ecopy of it. Also we have been talking about me hosting a giveaway for this book so watch out for that :) A big thanks to Tim O'Rourke.

So that's the books I received this week. What did everyone else receive?

In My Mailbox #16

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Story Siren. This is where we show what we have either bought or was given throughout the week gone by.









This week I received a couple of swaps from UK Swap Shop over at Goodreads:

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

I was recommended this book from Goodreads and it sounded so good that I thought I would try and get it. I am looking forward to reading this book.

Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

I had never read what this book was about but I have always loved the front cover so when I had the chance to have a swap I jumped at the chance. It was only then when I read what it was about which does sound like a different kind of book for me but it does sound interesting.

I also was accepted for a coupe of e-arcs from Netgalley

Dead of Night by Lynn Viehl

I loved the sound of this book so I thought I would give it a try but then I found out that this was number 2 in a series which I haven't tried. Has anyone read the first one? Do I need to read the first one first or could I start with this one?

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti

I actually emailed the publisher for this book as I saw it on Goodreads and it sounded so good but unfortunately they don't post out to the UK but she sent me a link for the netgalley which was already accepted so I was really pleased about that and I can't wait to read it.

What was in your mailbox this week?