Today August 14th is my 20th Birthday!!!

Hi everyone! So today is my 20th birthday. I know its sad that I'm no longer a teenager. Regardless of my age I'm thinking that I'll keep my blog's name the same. I mean why should I change it just because my age when really everyone is a teenager at heart. :)


Truthfully if anyone was to see me in person one would guess that my age is 12 at the least and 14 at the most. Which is understandable because I'm a small person. I'm like Kiersten White. We're both small and short. Whenever I go out to eat with my family people have to ask how many kids menus are needed. Most recently my family went to the movies and the ticket guy said one adult (my dad) and two kids (my brother and I). Oh how wrong was he?! I often joke about enrolling as a fifth grader and no one would be able to tell the difference. For real haha! Last year I went to my brother's play and all the little fifth graders were the same size as me if not a wee bit bigger. Okay well enough with the comparisons. 


The main point of this post is:
 1. To inform you all that I am now a twenty year old today. 
 2. I might just be having two giveaways starting tomorrow because I'm in a festive mood. 


Here is a cute penguin holding a yummy cupcake. I hope you all have had a great day today!

*photo found on Google images*

Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Synopsis: 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.

Book Details: 

Publisher: Hyperion

Pub Date: August 2, 2011

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 288

My Review: 

Ever wish there was a fairy tale like story for an audience older than 12 years old? Well look no further because Victoria Schwab has masterfully created a wonderful fairy tale for the older crowd. So good of a book is The Near Witch it's sure to become a classic.

The Near Witch is a story of the town of Near whose children are mysteriously disappearing late in the night. Once the town finds out about a stranger in their territory they blame him for the disappearances. The protagonist, Lexi, is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Her father always told her stories of the Near Witch and nature. With all towns there are missing parts to every story, things left untold and buried. Will Lexi uncover the truth to the story of the Near Witch, and will she find out who or what is taking the children? Will she be able to find the answer and make it out unharmed?

Seriously this book was pure brilliance! I read this book in two days. Once I started reading I couldn't stop until I was reading the last sentence. The Near Witch is a very captivating tale and will have readers  asking where has someone like Victoria been all their lives? Lexi is a very admirable protagonist she is a strong willed person and takes a stand for herself despite everyone's wishes. The stranger while is phantom like in the beginning turned out to be so adorable and cute. Lexi gave him the name of Cole. The whole time I was praying that Cole was not guilty of kidnapping the kids from their beds, because he was so nice to Lexi. I also love Lexi's mother and little sister. I felt the same determination that Lexi had to protect Lexi's sister from whatever is happening to the other children. The mother who is often quite and in her own world really took me by surprise when it came to her daughter Lexi. Just read the book to find out why.

Aside from the great characters in the book the writing is just superb. The words and sentences and story as a whole just flowed naturally and poetically. If your looking for a great and mysterious nighttime read then get The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab in your hands! 

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi Book Trailer

I totally can't wait for Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi to be released. I've heard nothing but great things about this book. I love the synopsis and the cover. What more can a reader ask for? Oh yeah the book itself. And if we're lucky the release date moved up. Hey a girl can hope can't she?! For now to statisfy my need and want for Shatter Me there's a book trailer that I can watch anytime.

What are your thoughts about the trailer? Are you excited, like me, to read Shatter Me?

Legend by Marie Lu Book Trailer

I know this book trailer was released two weeks ago,and many of you probably know too, but I just had to share this trailer. Legend is definitely one book I'm looking forward to reading later this year. This book has gotten so much hype and rave reviews, and I have a feeling that it certainly will live up to expectations.

What do you think of the book trailer? For me its a good trailer but not the best book trailer I've ever seen. The trailer does not deter me from reading this book either. Check out the synopsis here:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.


Conclusion:
Legend's release date is November 29, 2011. I'm guessing this will be a book that will wind up under a lot of Christmas trees. Or it'll be a gift for whatever holiday or occasion around the end of the year. Hopefully it'll be under my Christmas tree this year!

Review: Betrayed by Ednah Walters

Synopsis: Lil has come to terms with her life as a Guardian/demon hunter and the wielder of the Nephilim most powerful weapon-the Kris Dagger. She trains everyday to master her growing powers, gets along with her Guardian trainee friends, most of the time, and cherishes the time she spends with her human friends. 

Just when she feels she belongs, her nature-bender father contacts her and warns her about a betrayal by someone close to her. Then Bran, the boy she loves, starts to act strange and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability. While Lil struggles find a connection between these three things, she begins to realize that someone is manipulating her and will stop at nothing, including hurting those she loves, to lure her to the dark side.

Book Details: 

Publisher: Firetrail Publishing 

Pub. Date: August 1, 2011

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 368

My Review: 

If there is one thing anyone should know its that I just absolutely LOVED, still do, Ednah's debut novel and the first book in The Guardian Legacy series, AWAKENDED. As soon as I got BETRAYED in my hands I eagerly wanted to start reading the book right away. When I finally did get to start reading this book I was disappointed. Two of my thoughts at the beginning were, "I knew the first book was so great that the second might not live up to expectations" and "This book has got to get better I know Ednah can't fail at writing a great story." 

Betrayed started out very slow for me at the beginning and it wasn't until the middle of the book where things got increasingly better. While I get the bad stuff out of the way first, I'll say that there was one thing that bugged me a little besides the fact the book had a slow start, was that Ednah waited about 50 pages into the book to refresh the readers about what is going on or maybe the more acurate word is reintroductions. Usually authors refresh the readers with everything, this includes what happened in the previous book and the characters, in the very beginning chapters. Ednah certainly did something unique by waiting until way later. One more thing confusing thing about this book was that some scenes did not make sense. I may have just misunderstood what was going on but there was one scene where Lil was talking about how she wants to send someone to Tartarus. And I was like, "what is she talking about didn't she just send that person to Tartarus?!?!" I hope that wasn't confusing! 

Once the book picked up and was able to captivate me exactly like the first book did things went smoothly from there. I'm so glad I stuck with my gut to keep on pushing through the novel because it'd get better. All my favorite characters returned in this novel and there are new additions to the character list like Angelia. I liked all the new characters whether they were good or bad. Yeah I can't really say much without giving it all away. In Betrayed, Ednah certainly did make me think a lot about who could be the traitor and who could be the medium. Is Valafar really trying to be a genuinely good father to Lil? Or does he have a secret agenda? I can tell you that I never did try to guess who the traitor was because Ednah is so good at making the story so open with possiblilities that anyone could be the traitor. 

Lil's life got to the point where everything seemed to be going downhill. Lil could not fully trust anyone. Lil's relationship with Bran is getting complicated. It was just easy to sympathize for her. Trust me when I say to keep reading this book when things get slow because this book is worth it. The second half is full of awesomeness. It made me read like the book would dissolve into ashes any minute. Action packed, fast paced, romance in a way, full of mystery the second half redeemed this book for me. I can't wait to read the last book. I know without a doubt that no matter what Ednah will write another astounding addition to The Guardian Legacy books. 

Interested in reading my review of the first book? Well here it is.

Check out the trailer for BETRAYED: 

This Book Really is a YA Novel!!!

Okay, so I found this book on Goodreads. When I first saw the cover I immediatedly determined that it was just another adult book. Boy was I so very wrong. It was not until tonight when I decided to look at the book a bit more, because the title is an attention grabber, did I find out it is a YA novel. Plus, a YA novel that sounds like the kind of book I'll love. So I truly felt compelled to bring this to everyone's attention, who might have also immediatedly judged it for an adult book, that Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts is in fact 100% a Young Adult novel. I can say that yes this another case where I did judge a book by its cover and I'm so glad that I took another look into it. But I can't be the only person out there to have seen this book and was like "well there's another adult book with a set of eyes on the cover." In my opinion nothing about this book cover screams or even gives a hint that this book might in fact be a YA novel. Sometimes I find myself asking why did the publisher choose this cover? Like sometimes I'll find a book that looks like it could be YA but turns out to be an adult novel and vice versa. 

Anyways here is the book's synopsis if you are interested: 

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

So what are your thoughts about this book and its cover? Did you have the same situation as I did? 

"Waiting On" Wednesday (4)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. "Waiting On" is for book lovers to share what book they are eagerly anticipating.

My can't wait for book this week is:

The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis will be published iin the U.S. in January 2012 by Amulet Books.

Synopsis: Anna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own. Fascinated, Anna follows the two and listens as Abel tells little Micha the story of a tiny queen assailed by dark forces. It’s a beautiful fairy tale that Anna comes to see has a basis in reality. Abel is in real danger of losing Micha to their abusive father and to his own inability to make ends meet. Anna gradually falls in love with Abel, but when his “enemies” begin to turn up dead, she fears she has fallen for a murderer. Has she?

Award-winning author Antonia Michaelis moves in a bold new direction with her latest novel: a dark, haunting, contemporary story that is part mystery, part romance, and part melodrama.

Why I want this book: Just using the words mystery and romance and immediately its already a done deal for me. I love mystery books, and with mysterious deaths in this book with the love interest under suspicion who can't help but become interested? With the synopsis I really want to see how all the characters' lives go. Even though I have yet to read Nevermore by Kelly Creagh I can see these two books turning out similar for some reason. Plus Nevermore has received nothing but good praise too. Another reason I want this book is because the author is German, and I love to read books that were originally published in some other country than the U.S. Lastly I would like to comment on the cover. Its so simple looking that its beautiful. I love how the rose seems to be growing out of the ice. 

So what are your thoughts on The Storyteller? What book are you currently waiting for?