Blog Tour & Giveaway: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

September 6, 2011 in Contests, Young Adult Reviews

  • Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  • List Price: $18.99
  • Hardcover: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Razorbill (August 23, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1595143173
  • ISBN-13: 978-1595143174

Buy Bloodlines at:

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive – this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

By now, we’ve all read Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy. You also have to know that Bloodlines is the spin off of VA, this time staring Sydney, Jill & Adrian. Have I mentioned that Adrian is my all time favorite YA character? No? Now you know.

Sydney is still in the dog house with her fellow Alchemists for helping Rose in the previous series. One night the Alchemist come calling, but they don’t want Sydney they want her sister. Sydney will do everything in her power to protect her sister, even if it means her sister hates her. Finally the Alchemists agree to let Sydney take her sisters place & protect Jill, a Moroi Princess.

The job is to keep Jill safe by embedding themselves in a boarding school in California, because who would look for her in the sunniest place in the USA? Jill & Sydney pose as sisters and pretty much expect that nothing is going to happen. Could they be more wrong? Nothing is ever that simple & it’s up to Sydney to keep Jill alive & to prove herself to the Alchemists.

I was actually surprised at how much I loved Bloodlines. While I liked the VA Series, I found Bloodlines to be more grown up, faster past & actually a bit more entertaining of a read. Maybe it’s because there is more Adrian, or because Sydney is a bit more mature then Rose is.

I loved that Adrian’s feelings for Rose, all this time later, we’re ignored. He’s still in pain and Richelle Mead capture’s it, where others would have left it out of the storyline entirely. And he is still just as protective of Jill (Jailbait) as he always was in VA. On top of that storyline, the growth of someone independent & willing to fight for what she believes in, is what made Sydney such a likable character. She’s not like Rose at all, okay maybe a little bit. But what I loved the most about her, is she didn’t drop her beliefs that the Moroi are “people to fear”, she is still wary of them.

I enjoyed Bloodlines more then the entire VA series, Richelle Mead has made this series a bit more realistic in terms of emotions. That suits me just fine!

Next stops on the Bloodlines Canadian Blog Tour:

Sept 7 Hands and Home (Bonnie) http://www.handsandhome.ca/
Sept 8 Snowdrop Dreams of Books (Chrystal) http://snowdropdreams.blogspot.com/
Sept 9 Just Another Story (Sara)  http://unautrehistoire.blogspot.com/
Sept 12 Bibliomama (Allison)  http://bibliomama2.blogspot.com/
Sept 13 Esther’s Ever After (Brenna)  http://everafteresther.blogspot.com/
Sept 14 Simply Stacie  http://www.simplystacie.net/
Sept 15 Krystal’s Stellar Book Blog  http://stellarbookblog.blogspot.com/
Sept 16 Today’s Adventure (Vanessa) http://www.todays-adventure.com/
Sept 19 Lost for Words (Corrine) http://lostforwords-corrine.blogspot.com/

Penguin Canada is giving ONE lucky Canadian the chance to win Bloodlines. To Enter, tell me who your favorite YA character is (in the comments). Contest Ends September 13th, 2011.

Ann Aguirre’s Sirantha Jax: Grimspace & Aftermath Giveaway By Spaz

September 2, 2011 in Contests

One of my favorite series in the whole wide world is the romance science fiction Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre, y’all have heard by now, right? So in celebration of Aftermath releasing this week, I am going to giveaway one copy of Grimspace (Sirantha Jax #1) to a lucky reader who has not yet been able to start this series, and a copy of Aftermath (Sirantha Jax #5) to an existing Jax fan who doesn’t have it yet! See below for book descriptions and the details on how to enter. The book titles link to my reviews of each book, Good luck!

Grimspace (Sirantha Jax #1)

By all accounts, Sirantha Jax should have burned out years ago…

As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which cuts into her life expectancy, but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to defend herself: she has no memory of the crash.

Now imprisoned and the subject of a ruthless interrogation, Jax is on the verge of madness. Then a mysterious man breaks into her cell, offering her freedom—for a price. March needs Jax to help his small band of rogue fighters break the Corp monopoly on interstellar travel—and establish a new breed of jumper.

Jax is only good at one thing—grimspace—and it will eventually kill her. So she may as well have some fun in the meantime…

Aftermath (Sirantha Jax #5)

DEAD HEROES GET MONUMENTS. LIVE ONES GET TRIALS.

Sirantha Jax has the right genes—ones that enable her to “jump” faster-than-light ships through grimspace. But it’s also in her genetic makeup to go it alone. It’s a character trait that has gotten her into—and out of—hot water time and time again, but now she’s caused one of the most horrific events in military history…

During the war against murderous, flesh-eating aliens, Sirantha went AWOL and shifted grimspace beacons to keep the enemy from invading humanity’s homeworld. The cost of her actions: the destruction of modern interstellar travel—and the lives of six hundred Conglomerate soldiers.

Accused of dereliction of duty, desertion, mass murder, and high treason, Sirantha is on trial for her life. And only time will tell if she’s one of the Conglomerate’s greatest heroes—or most infamous criminals…


TO ENTER:

  • Please leave a comment telling me which book you would like: Grimspace OR Aftermath
  • For Grimspace: you must tell me what appeals to you about this series
  • For Aftermath: you must tell me who your favorite character is in the series and why
  • Include your email address so I have a way of contacting you
  • I will purchase each book from Book Depository & have them shipped to each winner

Easy right?! I’ll be selecting a winner of each book on Friday, 9/9. I can’t wait to share these books with you!

UPDATE: Giveaway is open to anywhere Book Depository ships to!

Big Contest Winner Post

August 30, 2011 in Contests

Sorry I’m so behind in announcing all the contest winners, but here we go!

David H. Burton has decided to give EVERYONE who commented in the post a digital copy of Broken!

Eve Silver Winner:

Melissa

The Paradise Prophecy Winner:

Holly (Full Moon Bites)

If you’ve won, please contact me in 48 hours at wickedlilpixie(AT)hotmail(DOT)com

Giveaway – Broken: A Paranormal Romance

August 22, 2011 in Contests

David H. Burton has generously offered FIVE e-copies of his novel Broken: A Paranormal Romance which I reviewed last week. David also let me know you can get a copy of Broken on Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $.99 cents while it’s on sale!

To enter, just tell me what kind of Fae is your favorite! Contest ends August 29th.

Spaz & Mitch Review + Giveaway: Body of Sin – Eve Silver

August 19, 2011 in Contests, Reviews

  • Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
  • List Price: $7.99
  • Publisher: HQN Books (August 23, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 037377592X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0373775927
  • Eve Silver’s Website

 

Buy Body of Sin at:

 

Once the favorite son of the Lord of the Underworld, Lokan Krayl held enviable privileges and powers. Powers that led to a devastating betrayal–murder.

Resurrected by his immortal brothers, Lokan is still trapped in purgatory. He has no way to contact his family. He has no answers. In order to find the truth about his death and who killed him, he must escape his prison. And there’s only one way out: through the twelve gates of his eternal enemy, Osiris.

But Lokan has help. Bryn Carr, the woman who duped him once before, is his beautiful yet unwanted guide. She’s been sent by his brothers to aid him. She’s his last hope. Lokan must place his fate–and that of the mortal and immortal worlds–in the hands of the one woman he can never trust.

What Spaz Loved: Lokan and Bryn’s history together and how it was told. I just love that they both developed a friendship once their daughter Dana was born and slowly fell in love without really acknowledging or accepting it. And when they’re given another chance, they go for it. Body of Sin captures the long-term friendship Lokan and Bryn developed, and the entire thing worked for me in every way. I felt like they both got the HEA they deserved, with each other. I also thoroughly enjoyed their journey together through the Twelve Gates. The imagery! It’s fantastic! My favorite part of this series overall is the Egyptian mythology! This series stands so far out from the other PNR series out there. The characters, mythology, and world-building are heavily rooted in the gods of Upper and Lower Egypt. Every time we journey to the Underworld, it is a trip and a half down there!

What Mitch Loved: Like Spaz, I LOVE the mythology! I’m a sucker for a romance that incorporates mythological stories well. Although, like in previous books in this series, Eve begins every chapter with a quote from ancient Egyptian writings, and sometimes reading that quote five-times over I could still only go, “Huh?” Luckily, the chapter quotes always make sense by the end of the chapter, even if the words seem to just barely make sentences at the beginning.

Spaz’s Favorite Quote:

Then his daughter opened her eyes – her denim blue eyes – and looked straight at him.

His heart shattered into a million pieces, then reformed with her image at its core.

pg. 166

Mitch’s Favorite Quote:

Here he’d thought he was trapped in purgatory and instead he’d ended up in Vegas. There was a message here. He was sure of it.

Pg. 91

Very Close Runner Up Quote:

“I thought you were dead,” she said, looking everywhere but at him. There was a hitch in her voice that reached into his chest and twisted a tight knot.

I was dead. In some ways, I still am. But I’m going to find a way to undo that.

Pg. 175

Mitch: The Otherkin series began with Lokan getting killed, and Eve has spent three whole books torturing the poor guy before giving him his own book, so I gotta love him for all he’s been through. On the other hand, Bryn, the mother of Lokan’s daughter, has barely appeared in the three previous books. It was great to learn more about Bryn and her relationship with Lokan. I think their romance really developed wonderfully from just shared parenthood to true love.

Eve gave some flashbacks in this book of Lokan before he was killed and I really loved every flashback. Each one gave information, but also added depth to Lokan’s character.

Lokan’s brothers also appear in this book, but I almost wish they hadn’t. There was a plot arc with them trying to break into the stronghold of the Daughters of Asset that just seemed to fizzle a bit at the end. Lokan’s story was powerful enough to carry the arc without his brothers needing a minor plot line within his book.

I really loved getting to know Lokan and seeing him grow and change. I loved his devotion to Bryn, but kinda feel like he could’ve figured out what was going on a little sooner on. Oh well. Men can be dim on occasion. ;)

I think my biggest disappointment in this book was reaching the end and not getting to stick around and see what Lokan became. I’d love to see another book to show what happens with him and his brothers from where they stand at the end of Body of Sin. Maybe one day his daughter will get a book? Or Bryn’s brothers? Overall, a great wrap-up to the series. The romance was sweet and the action was fast and kept things moving. This was definitely my favorite book in the series.

Spaz: This is my favorite of the series, too! Lokan has been in each of his brother’s books, in some way, shape or form, and we finally get the story of how his daughter Dana came to be. And I am sooo happy to say that for me, I couldn’t be happier with his story and how it all came together, and the final outcome of being so deeply betrayed by his own father. New characters are introduced and I cannot wait to see what might happen with them in future books! I DO NOT recommend reading this book standalone, thought it can be done. Lokan is peripherally there in each book in the Trilogy, and to really appreciate the depth of his journey I would read this after you’ve read the Trilogy.

******GIVEAWAY******

Eve Silver has been gracious enough to offer up one signed copy of Body of Sin to one of our lucky readers! The copy will be signed if the winner is in US/Canada. If our winner is International, an unsigned copy of Body of Sin will be sent from Book Depository. To enter, comment and let us know: If you could be any Egyptian god or goddess who would it be?