I need some advice and opinion for the website GoodReads

So I'm sure you know that book website called Goodreads? Some of you may not like it because some of the people that review books on the site are cruel and harsh towards some of the books they read and did not like or have not read but have expressed their hatred towards the book for whatever reason.

Its not till recently where I'm starting to get a problem. My e-mail is getting a thousand e-mails with a notice that yet another person has requested to be a friend of mine on Goodreads. I have no problem getting friend requests, but its gotten to the point where its too much. A lot of the people have no common reading interests as me. I prefer to accept and request those that have the same reading interests as me. I don't mean to be descriminate but I just like seeing updates in my update feed containing books I would read. Not books that I have no interest reading. Plus there are the people who like to treat Goodreads like Facebook or Myspace.

I want to narrow the amount of friend requests I get, but at the same time I don't want to offend anyone. What should I do? How do you (If you are on Goodreads) handle friend requests? What are your reasons for having a Goodreads account?

New Cover Alert!!!

Are you familiar with Cayla Kluver's debut novel Legacy? It was first published by Amazon Encore. Well now HarlequinTeen is publishing Cayla's novel and the rest of the books to the series. Legacy will be released on June 21, 2011. The cover I am about to show you may or may not be the final cover but I absolutely love it. When I saw the cover on BN.com I just had to share it with you all. Here is the before cover along with the new cover, and the synopsis of the book. For those who are wondering the blurb says: "I recommend you get this book in your hands as soon as possible."- Teen Trend Magazine

Synopsis:The first boy disappeared on the day of his birth, on a night when the pale yellow moon of the nighttime sky turned red and bathed the heavens in the ghastly color of blood, on the same night the Kingdom of Cokyri abruptly ceased its merciless attack.

Across the land of Hytanica, under the shadow of the crimson moon, infant boys continued to vanish. Not until the blood had faded from the sky did the disappearances stop and the bodies of the murdered infants were found outside the gates of the city, a final word from the greatest enemy Hytanica had ever known. For the next sixteen years, peace reigned, but one mystery remained unsolved. The Cokyrians had abducted forty-nine newborns, but returned only forty-eight bodies.

Now, as seventeen-year-old Princess Alera of Hytanica is besieged from all sides by suitors vying for the Throne, a teenage Cokyrian boy, Narian, is encountered within the walls of her Kingdom, a boy who will show Alera a world where women serve a purpose and not just a husband. As Narian helps Alera find her voice, she struggles against an arranged marriage that will shatter the life she has scarcely begun to live. And when Narian's shocking past is uncovered, and war with Cokyri looms once more, he must fight to defy a fate ordained at his birth.

Further Discussion: Thoughts and opinions anyone? I love the first cover. When I saw it in the bookstore I found it different from any other book cover and intriguing. It didn't even have a dust jacket. The cover art was on the book itself and really I much perfer hardcovers that way. But, wow, when I see the new cover I couldn't have asked for more. The new cover is so gorgeous in every aspect. I can not wait for Legacy to come out in paperback this June.

In My Mailbox (27)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. You can click here for more information.

This week's IMM is actually for the past I don't know how long weeks. Maybe the past couple of weeks worth of books.

For Review:

Vesper by Jeff Sampson (Reading it right now and it is a super super fun read.)

Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

Thank you HarperCollins and Simon and Schuster for the books!

Bought:

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

I must admit I don't really like the cover for The Secret Year, but I really want to read it. What really sold it for me was the feel of the book cover. It is one of the softest books I've ever felt. If not for the story itself, which I'm sure is really good, get the book for the feel of the cover. I hope I'm not the only person who feels this way about the cover. lol. :)

I'm really excited to read all the books I got these past few weeks! There is another thing I want to tell you all about; While at the bookstore last week I discovered a gorgeous reprint of Robin McKinley's novel Chalice. Isn't so pretty? I've never heard of Chalice before but it sounds like an interesting read. Have you guys read it?

What did you get in your mailbox?

Across the Universe ARC + Swag Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Across the Universe prize pack, chosen by random.org, is Krystal! Congrats Krystal you have 24 hours to reply to my e-mail, because I hope to ship your prize to you tomorrow.

For the winners of the Prize Packs of my previous giveaways I will be mailing them out tomorrow! Sorry it took me so long, I didn't have envelops at the ready.

Much love,

Mallory :)

Blog Hop: Jan. 14-17

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted weekly by Jennifer @ crazy-for-books.com. The blog hop is where you can discover other great blogs out there. =)

This week's question is: Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it?

My answer: I really don't have a definite answer to this question. I will read anything that sounds good to me. As long as its not an erotica or vampire book. I do find myself mostly reading Young Adult Paranormal Romance because I like how they are always dark and mysterious. They are all around a fun read. I do like to read contemporary books too, because its nice to take a break from fantasy and read books about regular everyday teens.

Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Synopsis: A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Book Details:

Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)

Pub. Date: Jan. 11, 2011

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 416

My Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis blew me away to space. This is one epic debut novel I suggest everyone read. With all the hype about Across the Universe I was expecting to be enthralled through out the novel. While this is partially true I sometimes found myself thinking that Across the Universe was an okay book. Nothing too awesome about it. It was not until the ending of the book where I found myself thinking this is one freaking awesome book and I totally love it!

First I want to mention the cover. I have complete cover over Across the Universe’s cover. I love all the colors in the cover. Purple is the most awesome color to ever exist so when its placed with pink and multiple shades you get one pretty cover. I love looking at astronomy pictures so the stars on the cover are beautiful. Plus I can’t forget the couple who I suppose are meant to be the two main characters. They are just lovely.

Beth Revis creates a new vocabulary for Across the Universe. I don’t know about anyone else but I love love love when authors get creative and have fun with their novels by creating a special and unique vocabulary. Although most of the unique words Beth created are mostly space curse words I appreciate that Beth did not use actual well known curse words of today. This does not mean that I dislike when authors do use curse words in books, because the truth is almost everyone has cussed at some point in their life. I just like how Beth got creative.

It was really easy to sympathize with everyone on Godspeed. Even if Eldest was a liar ,and evil in his own way, it was understandable why he did what he did. Even though he could of went about the situation a different way. I really like Amy, Elder, and Harley. They were the most real and their own person. Most of the people of Godspeed practically all shared the same mind.

If there was one thing I really didn’t like about the book it has to be The Season. It was really disgusting. The Season is where almost everyone on the ship mate. May I add they mate anywhere they can and that they don’t care if its in front of other people. I do understand why Beth added this situation to the novel. Everything written in Across the Universe is important to what Beth is trying to get across to people. Beth seems right about the 3 causes of discord too. Not too many people think about the reasons why there are hate and wars in this world but Beth did.

The mystery as to who is unfreezing and murdering the frozens will put readers on the edge on of their seats. It was a shock as to who it was although I did have my suspicions on the culprit. I must admit that right after finishing I went back to read the first 10 chapters (or something like that) again. Which has never happened to me before so kudos Beth!

Across the Universe is about seeking the truth when everyone is telling lies. Its also so much more than. I recommend you read Across the Universe to find out for yourself why Across the Universe has gotten all the hype it deserves. Plus its a great addition to the sci-fi and Young Adult shelf.

5 Stars!

Giveaway: Across the Universe ARC + Swag

I recently read Beth's debut novel and I have to say it was pretty epic. I have an extra ARC copy that I'm pleased to say will be someone's very soon. I'd like to thank Beth for making this giveaway possible. There will be some ATU book swag along with the ARC. All you have to do is fill out the form below. Since I'm feeling generous this giveaway is not only for U.S. residents but it is also for Canada residents as well. I'm slowly but surely making my way to an international giveaway sometime this year.

*Also you don't have to be a follower to enter but it is GREATLY APPRECIATED. =)

*Plus feel free to spread the word about the giveaway. Even if you don't get extra points. Do it to spread the book love! =)

Giveaway Ends 1/14 at 11:59 P.M. EST

Book Trailer: Clarity by Kim Harrington

You know Clarity by Kim Harrington don't cha? That book with the beautiful cover and intriguing synopsis? Well here is the book trailer for it.

This book seems like a win win. The cover is beautiful, I'm sure the novel will be beautiful, and the trailer is beautiful! What do you think about the trailer?

Total times I said the word beautiful= 5!

Two Great Covers Revealed!

If you click the covers it should take you to their Goodreads page.

Yesterday the cover for Michele Hodkin's debut novel, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, was revealed. I really like the cover. Its mysterious but at the same time kind of romantic. Unless the guy is trying to pull her under. Hope NOT! The expected release date is Sept. 27, 2011.

Today Lauren Kate's third book in her Fallen series, Passion, had it's cover revealed. I have yet to read the series even though I have the books. I think Passion's cover is my favorite out of the 3 books. I love how all the covers compliment each other and the girl holding the rose is pretty. Its like we are 1 step closer to finally seeing the girl's face. Expected release date is June 14, 2011.

What are your thoughts and opinions on the 2 new covers?

Book Trailer: Deadly by Julie Chibbaro

Here is a book trailer for the upcoming YA historical fiction novel, Deadly by Julie Chibarro. To find out more about Deadly here is a link to its Goodreads page: Deadly's Link. While searching Youtube for the book trailer I came upon a video of Julie reading from Deadly and talking about the book. I HIGHLY suggest you watch BOTH videos!


Tell me what your thought are after watching. Are you excited to read the book now? More than you already did?

Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Synopsis:

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Book Details:Publisher: HarperCollins (HarperTeen)Pub. Date: Jan 4, 2011Format: HardcoverPages: 448
My Review:
I simply love Angel books. So when I found out about Cynthia Hand’s debut novel Unearthly I just had to have this book. I can honestly say Cynthia is one of those authors that make such a stellar debut that they make it on the must buy everything from this author list! Cynthia writes in a way that makes you feel like you are there. Literally, no lie, while I was reading I was actually smelling the smells and picturing the world that she was describing. Don’t worry though the descriptions are not boring or painfully redundant.

Instead of mysterious and dangerous fallen angels Cynthia writes about the good Angels. Well there is a dangerous fallen angel in the book but that’s only a minor character. The main character, Clara, is an angel but she is not a full blooded angel. All angels are sent to Earth to fulfill a certain purpose. Clara starts to get visions of what her purpose is. Her visions include a boy and fire.

Clara’s mother soon decides its time to move to a town that is out in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t take long for Clara to meet the boy in her visions, Christian. Christian is the kind of boy that is too perfect. Even though he has a girlfriend Clara can’t stop thinking about him and what exactly it is she has to do with him in her visions. But is Christian all that he appears to be? To make things worse Clara seems to have a guy out to make her life a pain. That guy whose name is Tucker happens to be her new best friend’s brother. What is Tucker’s problem anyway? Well us girls (and maybe guys who do this) should know what his problem is. I don’t want to spoil anything but as the book progressed I started to love Tucker. He is a really down to earth kind of guy. In my opinion Christian seems more friend material for Clara. Boys aside, Clara made some pretty cool friends one that seemed to know what was best for Clara before Clara even knew what was best for her. This girl would be none other than Tucker’s sister Wendy. The other friend is quite quirky. I hope I’m using the right word to describe her. But I still don’t know whether Clara should trust her or not. Clara’s mother and brother. Well gotta love them. I’m glad Clara has them in her life.

With Unearthly I don’t ever remember being bored. The mystery, characters and the ending was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat until I finished reading.

I don’t know what else to say without giving out a review that is over 600 words. I’ll just say buy this book for Tucker, Clara, the story itself, and for Cynthia Hand because without her this extraordinary book would not exist. Most of all buy it because I’m sure you will fall in love with this book as much as I have. Plus how many YA books have girls as the Angel instead of the guy being an Angel falling for a mortal? Only one other that I can think of. So if you want to read a book that puts a fresh spin on Angels read Unearthly!

5 Stars!

In My Mailbox (26) Plus Christmas Stash

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. Its where people show others what they got that week thats book related.

Since I was away last week I didn't have time to take a picture of the books I got for Christmas. I'm finally back home and just now took pictures of what I got from the holidays and while I was away from home.

From Christmas:

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

(Not Shown)- Pure Sin by Kate Brian

For Review:

Clarity by Kim Harrington (See the sticker on the envelope? I thought it was awesome show I had to show you all!) Thank you Scholastic/Point for providing me a review copy!

The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker (Thank you Sourcebooks Fire)

What did you get in your mailbox?

Review: Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen

Synopsis:

Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear. All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

Book Details:Publisher: Harlequin TeenPub. Date: September 2010Format: PaperbackPages: 224
My Review:First off how many of you are tired of constantly reading books that are 300-600 pages long and bulky? Really its hard to find a book that is under 300 pages anymore. I’m pleased to say that Mara Purnhagen’s Past Midnight is a wonderful paranormal novel that is under 250 pages!

Past Midnight took me a few days to read and I enjoyed every second of it. Charlotte’s family moves around a lot because of her parent’s career as ghost hunters with their own T.V. show. One day something goes wrong at a place in Charleston, SC where Charlotte’s parents are filming. Afterwards Charlotte starts seeing strange things in her sleep and bedroom.

Charlotte makes new friends in her new hometown. The first friend we meet is a girl how lives across the street from Charlotte. That girl would be Avery who has a secret that everyone in town seems to know about but will not tell Charlotte when she asks about what happened. Then there are two guys introduced to us. Theres Jared who is somehow connected to Avery’s secret. Then there is Noah who, if I remember correctly, is a good guy that cares about Charlotte and they seem to be on the path towards a relationship. Really though the only boy that stuck with me months later after reading Past Midnight is Jared. I really don’t remember anything about Noah. Sorry Noah! Jared just seemed more flirtatious and a better match for Charlotte. They had natural chemistry or something! Whenever Charlotte needed someone to talk to who would understand she’d call her sister Annalise. They are so nice to each other. Annalise was like a fairy godmother to Charlotte in certain ways.

Along with Charlotte’s friends keeping secrets, Charlotte keeps that fact that her parents are ghost hunters a secret from her friends in hope that she can actually live a normal teenage life. Don’t worry though every mystery gets revealed at the end; which includes what happened with Avery and Jared and why are ghosts following Charlotte? Will Charlotte’s family secret stay hidden forever or will the town find out?

My only suggestion would be to rush out to your local bookstore and see if they have a copy of Past Midnight available and buy it! I can hardly wait for Feb. 15, 2011 to get here so I can go out and buy the second book in the series One Hundred Candles.

5 Stars!