Jan 31, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - Click: An Online Love Story



Hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!





You never know what might happen. At the very least, you’ll have eligible men taking you to swank restaurants. Hmmm. A whole host of hot and horny single men that I can review, chat with, judge and mock – all while sitting in my office looking very busy. Maybe I should give it a try myself. - Chapter 1











Happy Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday - Book Club Picks


Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this feature includes random weekly bookish top tens. This week's list is -top ten book club picks. I'm in a book club, so I picked for you some of the books we've picked this past year. I've also picked some that we didn't read as a group but would be good as a book club choice since I've already read them and know. Then I've picked five books that I haven't read but would like to in book club. Enjoy!

5 of Our Book Club Picks





Books I'd Like to Read in a Book Club
(already read)





Books I'd Like to Read in a Book Club (not yet read)




So, what do you think? Are you in a book club and have read some of these? Or do you think maybe you want to join a book club now? My book club is through work. We're the READiculous Readers ;o) Love it! It's fun to read books and share opinions in a group. Let me know what your choices would be. Happy Tuesday!


Jan 30, 2012

Blog Tour: S.R. Johannes - On The Bright Side


Today I have S.R. Johannes on the blog! She's touring for her new novel, On the Bright Side, and she's done an interview with me! Check it out as well as her new book :o)



Mickey: Hi there, Shelli! Welcome back to the blog! Please introduce yourself for those who don't know you.
Shelli:I am the author of Untraceable, a ya wilderness thriller; and a new tween paranormal coming 1/31 called On The Bright Side. I love chocolate, cheese dip, and spicy cheetos. And I am am overacheiver and an undercooker.

Mickey: You were on the blog promoting Untraceable last time. Now you're here for your new book. Tell us about it.
Shelli: On The Bright Side is a tween book that puts humor in death (I know I'm sick right?) Gabby is a disgruntled tween guardian angel (called a Bright). She is assigned to protect her school nemesis (ex-beffie) who is now dating her longtime crush. Gabby pranks her assigned mortal (it's not like tripping is a sin.) but when things start to go wrong, Gabby unknowingly unleashes a dark side and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.

Mickey: What made you decide to write for a different age range and such a drastically different type of book?
Shelli: Because I'm crazy. That's a good question. I don't know. The book just came to me. I try not to limit my creativity, though YA thrillers are definitely my sweet spot. I thought a funny guardian angel book about death would be a change form all the dark stuff out there. I thought a book about guardian angels pranking people was funny. I mean, come on. Didn't you wish you could be a fly on the wall in high school and listen to your frenemies and crushes talk about you? Or overhear some dirt? No? So that was just me? That is Gabby's life and the way she reacts to the Afterlife is funny. (To me anyway :)

Mickey: Any plans to write something for the adult set?
Shelli: No way. I could never write for adults. My attention span is too short to read it and write it. I think my vocabulary is lacking too. Plus I am too immature. I would not know how an adult should act :)

Mickey: What is your favorite song lyric and why?
Shelli: "Kris Allen's live like we're dying." Because I think we waste a lot of time focusing on things that dont matter. And this is the underlying theme of On The Bright Side. Sometimes the things you think are important don't matter in the end.

Mickey: Name a movie you could watch over and over again.
Shelli: I'll do better than that. I'll name three : Lord of the rings trilogy, Star wars trilogy, Harry potter trilogy.

Mickey: Do you have any guilty pleasures? Secret, hidden talents?
Shelli: OMG I have soooo many guilty pleasures. Cheese and chocolate and books go together nicely. Hidden talents? I am a great mime. :) Just kidding. I used to sing in a blues/jazz band. If I wasn't a writer I would probably be singing. Secrets? Well, it's not really a secret if I tell.

Mickey: Thanks so much for being on the blog today! Any final words or parting thoughts?
Shelli: May your life be filled with days. ;) Profound enough?


Author Bio

S.R. Johannes is the author of Untraceable, a YA wilderness thriller. She lives in Atlanta Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. After earning an MBA and working in corporate America, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. You can find her hanging out online.

Find S.R. Johannes
email | twitter | facebook | blog


ARC Review: Jodi Meadows - Incarnate

Jodi Meadows - Incarnate
(Newsoul #1)


• Pub Date: January 31, 2012
• Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
• Format: eGalley
• Age Range: Young Adult

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

I received this book from Net Galley. Here's my honest review.

I honestly didn't think I would like this one. At all. Seriously. The beginning made this book sound so strange and out there. And it didn't waste any time diving right in. I didn't feel like I had all the information needed to make conclusions and follow the story properly. But eventually, after I put this book down, read something else, and picked it back up, I was hooked. This book absorbed me, even with the dragons, sylph, and reincarnated souls.

I have a few questions, like about having children, the other parts of the world, etc. But I really enjoyed seeing things from Ana's perspective. She's not a reincarnated soul, and her mother didn't raise her very well, so she doesn't have the knowledge she needs to live a real life in this world. She runs away to try and find out who she is, what she is, etc, and she is saved by Sam. She has big trouble trusting him, which is understandable. But when she finds out who Sam really is, things really start to pick up. I was able to focus on their relationship enough so that the dragons (which aren't really my thing) didn't take away from the story. By the time they became a bigger part of the novel, I was already so into it that it was okay. It might have helped me expand my book horizons. Who knows!

Sam was a very good male character. I don't know about him becoming my new favorite, but I enjoyed his presence for sure. Mmhmm ;o)

What I liked:
  • Original idea. I read a lot, and I love when I come across a book that's different. This one is definitely a unique concept. The whole soul thing really intrigued me.
  • Sam. He's precious. He's mysterious. He's kind. He's melt-worthy. I pretty much loved Sam.
  • Ana. I also really liked Ana. She's so confused with her new reality because she grew up so sheltered. It comes across properly. I love it.

What I didn't like:

  • Open questions. I don't know if we'll even get the answers in other books, which makes me nervous. I want to know about having children, about other areas of the world, etc. I guess we'll have to wait to find out!
  • Slowness at the beginning. I was pretty confused at the beginning. There wasn't enough explained to me to understand for a while. But then I got it. Good book.

Bottom Line: I definitely recommend this one as a unique YA read with a great male character. Book-boyfriend material.

Rating:

3.5 / 5 book sharks