Thursday, August 11, 2011

Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch

Description


The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.


And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
 
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
 
But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
 
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
 
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
 
Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.(Goodreads)

 

 

Book Details

Title: The Near Witch
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Published: August 2, 2011 
ISBN-10: 1423137876
ISBN-13: 978-1423137870
Source: Self Purchase


Review


The Near Witch is one of those stories you want to immerse yourself in, then not come up for days to make sure you’re truly saturated in all it’s haunted beauty.

Victoria Schwab’s lyrical writing style was captivating and it flowed from one scene to the next. Schwab’s imagery of the moor took me back to my own childhood growing up in the country and playing in the pasture land with my own little sisters. Most of all I loved the characters that Schwab created.

Lexi was a perfect lead character and I loved her from the start. Lexi was smart, strong, and protective. She would do anything for those she loved. Lexi knows all the old stories of Near but she can’t bring herself to believe that the council members are right about who is taking the children from their beds at night. I really enjoyed watching Lexi stay one step ahead of the council, especially when it came to her and Cole. Mmm Cole the stranger the wind blew in. Every moment Lexi and Cole were together on the page you could feel the magic.

There is so much more I want to say but I will just start giving one spoiler after  another so I will end it at this:

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Happy Reading,
Rebecca

5 moons
5 moons: I absolutely loved it, and will be looking into everything this author writes.


Recommended For

12 and up: Some kissing, it does get spooky at times, and light violence.


*To Enter The Near Witch Giveaway Click This LINK.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Near Witch Giveaway!

The Near Witch
Hi everyone! This is a thank you giveaway. I have been blogging  for just over three months and everyone in the book community has been amazing!

First Prize
A signed copy of The Near Witch and a signed book mark.

Second Prize
A signed Hourglass poster and an Ash to Nash tour book mark.


There will be one winner for each prize. The giveaway will run from August 10, 2011 through August 24, 2011. To enter click HERE.

Winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond or new winners will be chosen. Giveaway is open to anyone living in the US or Canada.
Good Luck!
~Rebecca
This giveaway is closed.

Review: Dream Dark (Caster Chronicles #2.5) by Kami Garcia

Dream Dark

Description


When Link joined his best friend, Ethan Wate, on a quest through a mysterious network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, he knew the journey would be dangerous. But returning home to Gatlin, South Carolina was just the beginning...

Wounded during a climactic battle, Link discovers that tending his injuries won't be as simple as visiting a doctor and that healing his arm should be the least of his worries. For being bitten by a Supernatural does more than break the skin -- it changes a person, inside and out, turning Link into someone more and more like the dark creature who injured him.

In this never-before-seen short story by New York Times bestselling authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, readers witness Link's heart-racing transformation. Dream Dark is set before the much-anticipated third Beautiful Creatures novel, Beautiful Chaos, and as a special bonus includes an exclusive sneak peek at the first five chapters. (Goodreads)

Book Details

Title: Dream Dark
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 345 KB
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: August 2, 2011  
ASIN: B0054LDAZ2
Source: Self Purchase

Review


This was a fun snippet that was definitely worth my 1.99 to pop into the Caster world. Even if it was for only a very short time.

Link has always been one of my favorite characters so I got very excited when I heard the news that he was getting his own short story. Dream Dark is so much fun and if you love the rest of the series then you will love this, too. Link’s interactions with his mom had me laughing out loud. The way she handled all his physical changes was hysterical. One of my favorite quotes by Links mom:
“Are you takin’ drugs, Wesley?” his mom had demanded after she charged into his room right before lunch. “Gettin’ yourself all hopped up on the marijuana?” "The way she said it, you’d think she was proposing to someone. Marriage-you-wanna?"

I also enjoyed seeing Link and Macon start to build a relationship. They are so different that their characters go very well together on page or screen seeing how this is an eBook. As impatient as I am this just may hold me over until the next in the series comes out. If you still have not read this series you are truly missing out they are so much fun, and they’re set in South Carolina one of the most amazing places on the planet. You have until October 18, 2011 to catch up that is when Beautiful Chaos comes out.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca

5 moons
5 moons: I absolutely loved it, and will be looking into everything this author writes.

Recommended For

Teen and up: Some language, and violence.

Other Books in this Series

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1)Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles, #2)Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles, #3)
Click the book to go to the  Goodreads page.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Review: Crescendo (Hush, Hush #2) by Becca Fitzpatrick

Crescendo

Description


The sequel to the New York Times Best selling phenomenon, Hush, Hush! Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home. The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine? (Goodreads)

Book Details

Genre: YA, Paranormal
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Published: October 19, 2010
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416989439
ISBN-13: 978-1416989431
Source: Self Purchase

Review


By the end of Crescendo I felt as if it did live up to its name—everything getting louder and louder until finally everything comes together at once.

Crescendo picks up just a few months after Hush, Hush. At the start of Crescendo Nora and Patch are going strong. That is until Nora declares her feelings for Patch and then it all goes down hill from there. Honestly I really enjoyed Nora’s character in Hush, Hush, but in Crescendo she drove me crazy. She was like a bipolar patient off her meds, her only constant was that she was going to be up and down, up and down. I really missed my Nora and Patch time in this book. There just was not enough.

Patch is assigned to someone new to look after, and who do you think it is? That’s right it’s …Marcie! dom. dom. dom. The girl Nora hates most in the world. You see this coming and if Nora would stop and think for just a few minutes she would see it, too.

Now the big redeeming character that saved some of the middle of the book for me and kept me reading was Lee. I know total shock. I couldn’t stand her in the last book and I loved Lee in Crescendo. She kept the flow fun when Nora was being way too whiney for me.

So I know I have bashed Nora a bit but if you liked Hush, Hush and you haven’t read Crescendo yet let me tell you it is worth it just for the last forty to fifty pages or so. Man does Becca Fitzpatrick know how to write an ending that will leave you wanting more… Even when half the book annoyed you. I am now impatiently waiting on Silence with many others.  

Happy Reading,
Rebecca


 3 moons
3 moons: I liked it.

Recommended For


Teens and up: Some violence, drinking, sexual situations.

Other Books in this Series


Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)

Saturday, August 6, 2011

In My Mailbox (8)

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In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.
This quick vlog post about the books we received this week. Enjoy!

 
The books mentioned in this post are below. Click on the Book image to go to there Goodreads page for more info.
 
Hourglass (Hourglass, #1)Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)
The Near WitchThe Paladin

Thanks so much to Once Upon a Twilight for all the swag I won as seen in the video.

All right y’all so that’s what I got in my mailbox. I’m excited to see what you got in yours. Give me some comment love Smile
~Rebecca