Stacking the Shelves (1)

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga @ Tynga’s Reviews.

 

 

 

I am slowly starting to get back into the rhythm of things with my blog. I haven’t been very consistent on blogging due to having a pretty chaotic few months. But, things look like they will slow down so hopefully I will be able to get back into the swing of things.

The books listed below are books that I’ve purchased, won or received for review in the last two or three weeks.

Purchased:

Ruling Passion by Alyxandra Harvey
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Received:

I received these two books from the amazing Jessi @ Reading In the Corner, I was so excited when I received them in the mail and if that was exciting enough she got Pandemonium signed by the author and dedicated to ME!!!! Sending you hugs all the way from Florida, thank you so much!

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

For Review:

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
Timepiece by Myra McEntire
Tempting the Best Man by J. Lynn
Always a Bridesmaid by Cindi Myers

 

Thank you Jessi, Entangled Publishing, Egmont USA, and St. Martins Press

Guest Post & Giveaway with Author J. Bennett

So today I’m lucky enough to have J. Bennett author of Falling- Girl with Broken Wings stop by with a guest post today. She was awesome enough to also offer five copies of her book for a giveaway. So after you read the post check out the giveaway below.

The intellectual challenge of college and the warm embrace of a serious boyfriend have given Maya the wings she needs to break away from her bookish and shy reserve. Her ideal life comes crashing down when she and her boyfriend are accosted by a stranger. A stranger with glowing hands. Maya's boyfriend is killed. She is kidnapped. Changed. A rescue comes, but not soon enough. Maya’s senses sharpen, her body becomes strong and agile, and she develops the ability to visually see the emotions of those around her as colorful auras…beautiful auras…tempting auras. And then there’s the song… Now, Maya must struggle to control the murderous appetite that fuels her new abilities, accept her altered condition and learn to trust two vigilante half-brothers she never knew she had. As she joins the battle against a secret network of powerful and destructive beings that call themselves "Angels", Maya vows to find and destroy the one who changed her. On the bright side, at least Maya's oldest half-brother has stopped trying to kill her.

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that showcase upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

CLP Blog Tour: Excerpt of Vivid by Andrea Murray

Yesterday I reviewed Vivid you can read my review here. Today I would like to share an excerpt from the book. Thanks Andrea for providing me with this!

EXCERPT:

“Hey, look,” our tormentor teases, rising and looking around at everyone.  “She’s so fat she probably broke her wrist by sitting on it!  Little piggy, I think I might just smack you around for the hell of it!”
When she bends back down and grabs Abby’s shoulder, I grab her forearm.  I feel my strength.  I look down at my arm.  My whole body is covered in goose bumps, and the tiny hairs on my neck are standing up.  If I were to look in a mirror right now, I know my eyes would be losing their usual gray color, becoming completely colorless around the black pupils, and glowing a soft white light. This girl is a good seven or eight inches taller than me and has biceps a linebacker would envy, but at this moment, none of that matters.

Her look of amusement flashes to one of anger then confusion.  I release Abby and slowly stand, maintaining my hold on the girl.  Gripping her arm hard, I push her back several steps.  Just like a scene from one of those cheesy 80s high school movies, silence descends in a wave across the cafeteria.

But this girl doesn’t realize yet that she should give up this fight she’s about to lose.  “You little bitch!  I’m gonna—hey!  What are you doin’ to my arm?!”  She wraps her free hand over my own that is still clutching her arm like a vise.  Her whole body starts to shake, and she falls to her knees gripping my hand and trying to pry my fingers off.  I can feel her short, jagged nails raking my hand and forearm, but I know nothing can break the contact.  My mind is screaming to let go while there is still time to salvage this situation, to keep anyone from seeing my eyes, to keep this girl from being seriously hurt, and to keep from appearing as anything other than a typical student in this school.  But my body, my hand, refuse to listen. 


ABOUT THE BOOK:

When Vivian Cartwright was five years old, she witnessed her mother’s death. Now, sixteen-year-old Vivian only wants a normal life—hard to accomplish when you possess the power to control energy. Her entire life she has feared her power and its connection to her mother’s murder. She has kept her ability a secret from everyone except her guardian, Charlotte, who has hidden Vivian from the man responsible for her mother’s murder. Her secret is safe until Vivian subconsciously defends herself at school using her power. After this first use of her gift in many years, Vivian’s power seems to take on a mind of its own, increasing in strength and demanding to be used. This increase in power also brings dreams of her mother’s death and the mysterious man connected with it. When she is assigned to tutor the would-be boyfriend of Trista Parmer (a.k.a. the biggest diva in school), Vivian cannot deny the electrifying connection that she feels for the boy, Easton Garrett. In her desire to get Easton away from Vivian, Trista doubles her efforts to humiliate Vivian, forcing Vivian to use her supernatural gift over and over. With each use, Vivian fears she is losing control and discovers her powers are growing—maybe too much—bringing her unknowingly closer to the man who murdered her mother.

You can find the book at the following locations Amazon, Barnes & Nobles.


The next stop on Andrea's blog tour is All Things Books. Don't forget to stop by and check it out.

CLP Blog Tour: Review of Vivid by Andrea Murray

When Vivian Cartwright was five years old, she witnessed her mother’s death. Now, sixteen-year-old Vivian only wants a normal life—hard to accomplish when you possess the power to control energy. Her entire life she has feared her power and its connection to her mother’s murder. She has kept her ability a secret from everyone except her guardian, Charlotte, who has hidden Vivian from the man responsible for her mother’s murder. Her secret is safe until Vivian subconsciously defends herself at school using her power. After this first use of her gift in many years, Vivian’s power seems to take on a mind of its own, increasing in strength and demanding to be used. This increase in power also brings dreams of her mother’s death and the mysterious man connected with it. When she is assigned to tutor the would-be boyfriend of Trista Parmer (a.k.a. the biggest diva in school), Vivian cannot deny the electrifying connection that she feels for the boy, Easton Garrett. In her desire to get Easton away from Vivian, Trista doubles her efforts to humiliate Vivian, forcing Vivian to use her supernatural gift over and over. With each use, Vivian fears she is losing control and discovers her powers are growing—maybe too much—bringing her unknowingly closer to the man who murdered her mother.~Goodreads

Vivid by Andrea Murray
Published: December 2011
Source: I received this book from the author via CLP Blog Tour in exchange for an honest and thoughful review.
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble




MY THOUGHTS:

First, I have to say don’t let the cover fool you; if you’re like me I tend to judge reading a book by the cover which is totally ridiculous but true. I would have completely missed out on a great story if I didn’t stop to read the synopsis. I really wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I started reading this book, this book was definitely one of those books that you pick up to read and it totally surprises you. I was definitely hooked within the first few chapters.

Vivian has always known she was different and has had to hide all of the things she could do, she lives with her Aunt Charlotte since he witnessed her mother’s murder at the age of five.  She’s a good student, good niece and tries to stay out of trouble. But, she finds that she is the prime target of bullying by the “queen of the popular kids” Trista and over the years it has made it hard to control her powers since certain emotions tend to trigger her power.  Her only comfort at school is her best friend
Abby who is ridiculed as much as Vivian is.

Vivian has to deal with the popular group who seriously go out of their way to bully Vivian and Abby. I really felt bad for her; I mean I seriously don’t ever remember school being that divided and if so I don’t remember popular kids tormenting anyone. The characters in this book took bullying to a
whole other level.

I really enjoyed Vivian as the protagonist; does she get bullied around a lot? Yes, but at the end of the day Vivian always tries to stand up for herself when every else just deals with what’s dished out at them.So for that I love her. I think her best friend has an interesting personality,she’s not afraid to stand up for herself but at the same time she’s insecure and sometimes I had no clue what she would do. She was totally random in her actions.  Easton was a character that started growing on me by the end of the book, but I’m not sure I bought the romance;it was just way too fast for me.

I think what grabbed me most in the story was the fact that your taking this journey with Vivian, she’s not sure about all of her abilities and she’s learning what her strengths and weaknesses are along with the reader.I liked the mystery factor of the story surrounding the murder of her mother.

This story definitely left me wanting more, I still have so many unanswered questions, and I just realized book two has been released so I will definitely be grabbing a copy of it. Overall this story definitely was good it was slightly slow starting up for me but then out of nowhere things start happening and it really picked up towards the end, definitely had me wanting more. I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a change from the typical paranormal books out there.

4 out of 5 stars

About The Author:

Andrea Murray has been teaching English for longer than most of her students have been alive. She has taught everything from junior high language arts to concurrent credit freshman composition. She lives in a very small town in Arkansas with her precocious daughter, energetic son, and racecar-driving husband. When she isn't writing or reading novels for her students, she's probably watching reality television or cheesy science fiction movies. In addition to Vivid, Andrea has also written Vicious, the sequel to her first novel.