{Top Ten Tuesday} 30

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It was created because of their love of lists, and I myself love lists as well - so you will see it frequently popping up on MMSAI, although admittedly we have not done them in a while – let me tell you, we are happy to be back at it!

Everyone is welcome to join in, and don't worry if you can't think of 10 - just do as many as you can. And of course, be sure to link back to TBATB (and leave me a link here too!) on your post!
As always they are in no particular order.

This Weeks Topic is:
TOP TEN Characters I would like to change places with for 24 hours

1. Aura from The Shade Series by Jeri Smith-Ready – I don’t even need 24 hours, just an hour. By a river. With Zachary.

2. Rose Hathaway from The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead – Does this even need explanation? Though I would like to pick a non-battle time, preferably in a little hut in the woods with Dimitri. Plus to be a kick ass bodyguard…that would be epic. 

I think I see a trend happening here….hmmmm

3. Rayna from The Protector Series (Exiled & Shift) By MR Merrick – this girl is the epitome of cool, snarky and kick ass…kinda like me…*wink*

4. Alice Cullen from Twilight – See the future, have an awesome closet and fashion sense and the most important factor here….Jasper.

5. Kristy from The Baby Sitters Club Series by Ann M. Martin – seriously, she created the BSC, so she’s obviously brilliant. AND, look at all the adventures she has while making money? What could be better!?

6. Harold from Harold and The Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson – to draw my own world when the one I live in doesn’t suit me. Total freedom.

7. Meg Murray from A Winkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle – To travel by tesseract?! To see all she saw and did all she did, not to mention to be related to Charles Wallace – where do I sign up!?

8. Zoey Redbird from The House of Night Series by PC/Kristen Cast – So I could jump off a cliff on page one and prevent any other books being written. Not a fan. Can you tell?

9. Cas Lowood from Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake – Kill the dead. Ghost Hunt. HELL YES!

10. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling – She’s my kind od Looney – I would love to be her for a day.

What’s on your list? Be sure to share a link with me below so I can check yours out too!

{Giveaway} The Program Bookmark

Many of you might recall a post I did not to long back where I showed off THE PROGRAM bookmarks I made for Suzanne Young. Well, I am just now finally getting around to giving them away! I’ve been meaning to plan this giveaway for weeks!

This giveaway is for one bookmark, which I designed for Suzanne Young’s upcoming novel THE PROGRAM. It is open Internationally!

Here’s some info on THE PROGRAM, click the book cover to add it to your TBR – and fill out the rafflecopter below to win a bookmark!

THE BOOK

The Program
By: Suzanne Young
Release Date: April 30th 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone.
With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.
Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in.
And The Program is coming for them

The Bookmarks:

THE GIVEAWAY:

The Rules:

- Must be 13+ To Enter
- One Entry Per Person/Per Household
- Daily Tweet must be clicked each day of use, you can not reuse the same URL
- Open Internationally.
- Not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged items.

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{Book Review} Borrowed Heart

Borrowed Heart
The Evie Sanders Series Book 1 
Author: Linda Lamberson
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Publish Green
Rating: 5 birds

Evie Sanders is pretty good at heeding that gnawing feeling she gets when trouble rears its head—or at least she used to be. Things change when she meets Quinn Harrison one morning after class. Evie would never do anything intentionally to hurt her long-distance boyfriend or jeopardize their relationship, but she finds it increasingly difficult to resist Quinn. Just when things can’t seem to get any more complicated, Evie is involved in a fatal car accident. Yet, her death marks a new beginning—and her new existence as an immortal. It’s not long before Evie and Quinn’s paths cross again, and she finds herself trying to walk a fine line between bending the rules she must now obey and breaking them.

Evie thinks she has her life all figured out until she bumps into Quinn.  Sparks flew between them considering how hot  Quinn was.  She was not sure if this was right since she had a boyfriend.  This amazing attraction between Evie and Quinn was making Evie question herself.   I was glad to see the author throw some conflict so early in the story.  Life always has conflict.   I loved  the interaction between Evie and Quinn when they spoke to each other.  The flirting between the two was fun and whimsical.  You could feel that they belonged together!  

Suddenly Evie gets involved in a fatal car accident. Death takes her, but she is transformed into a world as an immortal.  Being an immortal is actually called "Shepard."   Shock hits her first on the issue of being dead.  Her mentor Peter eases Evie into this new world at first.  Evie herself was curious and wanted to ask many questions.  Peter eventually spurts out the information to Evie's questions she has.  She collects it all in.  I was amazed to see how quickly Evie adjusted to being a Shepard and their rules.    Being a Shepard is not all cracked up to be for Evie due to her emotions. At first she did not want to be one, but then slowly changes her mind.  Once you become a Shepard, you lose your memory of your time on Earth as a human.  I thought this was kind of a bummer, to lose your memories of family and friends that you knew on Earth.  Evie has to make a choice.

Once Evie goes down the path on being a Shepard, action spills out causing confusion and questions for Evie.   The cause  is Quinn.  She ends up crossing Quinn's path which stirs up an emotional adventure.  Even Evie's mentor was curious of how Quinn was affecting Evie.     I was rooting for this!  The book went on and on between these two main characters.   

The book was filled with action, jealousy,heartache, drama, love and friendship.    All of these emotions are tied to Evie adjusting to being a Shepard, the journey she takes, the connection between her and Quinn!   What I loved the most was the action, love and heartache that is in the book between Quinn and Evie.   The love that these two have for each other is true love.   True love rocks. Then there's heartache which leads to hard decisions that Evie has to make one way or the other.   The heartbreaking moments almost made me want to scream no but I kept on hoping for  the brighter moments to arrive.     Action, there has been action going in this story since it started and it never ends. It goes on and on as Evie heads into attraction with Quinn and to the rules of being a Shepard.  The journey is quite amazing!

At the end of the book, it was a cliffhanger!   I immediately  wanted to know what was going to happen next with Evie and Quinn.  The two questions that stayed in my head were:  Does Evie still follow the rules?  Does love prevail between these two?    So off I went in finding the next book of this series to see what the vagrancy holds for Evie and Quinn! 

Find The Author

Goodreads | Twitter | Website

{Book Review} Frost

Frost
The Frost Chronicles #1
Author: Kate Avery Ellison
Format: ebook
Length: 194 pages
Published: April 1, 2012
Rating: 3 birds

From Goodreads: In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, one wrong move and a person might end up dead—and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone. After monsters kill her parents, she must keep the family farm running despite the freezing weather and threat of monster attacks, or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides and treachery just one wrong step away, she can’t afford to let her emotions lead her astray. So when her sister finds a fugitive bleeding to death in the forest, a young man from beyond the Frost named Gabe, Lia surprises herself and does the unthinkable.
She saves his life.
Giving shelter to the fugitive could get her in serious trouble. The Elders have always described the advanced society of people beyond the Frost, the “Farthers,” as ruthless and cruel, and her village has nothing to do with them. But Lia is startled to find that Gabe is empathetic and intelligent…and handsome. She might even be falling in love with him.
But time is running out. The monsters from the forest circle her farm at night. The village leader is starting to ask questions. Farther soldiers are searching for Gabe. Lia must locate a secret organization called the Thorns to help Gabe escape to safety, but each move she makes puts her in greater danger. Is compassion—and love—worth the risk?

Lia Weaver is a strong female character and for that I am happy. Too many times we have the wishy-washy, whiney and sometimes annoying female protags in YA. In fact, for awhile I thought they were taking over. Not Lia though. Phew!

While she falls in love, her identity and strength are not lost. She never once sacrifices who she is for love, but rather she realizes what is right and wrong and makes her decisions and choices out of love instead of for it.

I enjoyed the mystery involved, wondering what would happen next.It really kept me thinking about the book when I had to put it down. Honestly the book had almost everything I wanted, though a few parts of the story I would have liked more of is finding out more about the place the Farthers come from. I would have also liked to learn more about the people of the Frost, specifically why they live the way they so and exactly what are the Watchers.

For those who like the traditional happy ending wrapped in a bow this book may not be for you, it took me a minute to accept the ending but when I did I was left waiting and wanting the sequel THORNS which should be released Summer 2012. In the end I’m giving the book 3 Birds, and do look forward to (like I mentioned) the sequel and hope to have some of my questions answered and I look forward to just getting back into the world with Lia.

Find Kate Avery Ellison
BLOG | TWITTER | GOODREADS

{Book Review} Sovereign Hope

Sovereign Hope
The Hope Series #1
Author: Frankie Rose
Pages: 391
Format: ebook
Release Date: July 1, 2012
Rating: 4 Birds

Everyone has a soul

Some are just worth more than others

Farley Hope was seventeen when her mother disappeared. In the last six months not much has changed, except that her eighteenth birthday came and went and still no sign of Moira. Her life is just as complicated as it always was. Since her father died in a car crash before she was even born, she’s officially parentless, and to top it all off she’s still suffering from the hallucinations. Mind-splitting, vivid hallucinations- the kind prone to induce night terrors and leave you whimpering under your covers like a baby.

The last thing on her mind is boys. Farley is on break from St. Judes’ when she meets Daniel. It’s not some casual run in at a party, or even a blind date with friends, though. Daniel is the guy following her in his 1970′s Dodge Charger; the guy standing at her window in the LA lunch hour traffic, trying to persuade her to leave everything behind and follow him. And he's hot as all hell.

The moment Farley lays eyes on Daniel, everything changes. He is cold and withdrawn, but there are cracks in his harsh veneer- cracks that betray the secrets he is trying so hard to hide. Farley is drawn into a world that will shake apart everything she thought she ever knew. There are truths out there that she must learn: that a person’s soul is their only real currency, and there are people who would do anything to take hers; that loving someone can hurt so much more than hating them; but, most importantly, when your future is predestined, there is little you can do to change it.

Farley Hope is prophesied.

Her coming has been awaited for hundreds of years.

She is destined to end the tyranny of the Soul Reavers.

To do so she must die.

Sovereign Hope was a refreshing story in the paranormal genre. With a unique, original and action packed plot and loveable characters, Frankie Rose creates a story that readers will instantly become absorbed in.

The characters in Sovereign Hope were really interesting. I was able to make a connection to them pretty early on, which isn’t always easy. I loved Farley and Daniel. I felt Farley was a relatively strong female lead and I believe that as the series continues she will only become stronger. I think Farley still has a lot to learn about herself and I can’t wait to see her discover it!

Daniel was definitely hot! I couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Now, one of my pet peeves is guys that treat girls like crap to “protect” them. Daniel does fall into the category of “that guy”, HOWEVER, the reason I think it didn’t bother me as much was because we were able to see things from his point of view as well. Usually, we only see things from the girl’s perspective. It was an excellent choice on Rose’s part to allow us a sneak peek into his mind. Seeing Daniel’s internal struggles allows the readers to empathize with his character.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters. I thought Kayden and Daniel had a very interesting relationship and I hope we see more of it in upcoming books. I also really loved Tess and Oliver. I am looking forward to seeing their relationship progress.

The plot in Sovereign was fast paced and full of action. This book was definitely an adventure. Rose did an excellent job of keeping us in suspense without over doing it. However, there were a few parts that I thought were a little slow because there was too much irrelevant information. That was the only thing from holding the story back from being a 5 star book.

Frankie Rose’s Sovereign Hope was an excellent read. If you want to go on a unique adventure this book is for you!

Find Frankie Rose:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

{Giveaway Hop} Lazy Days of Summer

Welcome to the Lazy Days of Summer Blog Hop hosted by I’m A Reader Not A Writer and Colorimetry, we are really excited to be participating!!

There’s nothing better to do in the lazy days of summer than to curl up with a good book, be it inside with the air conditioning or on a bench enjoying the fresh air! We want to help contribute to your summer reading list by giving you a new book!!

The Team here at MMSAI has chosen a few books each that we have really enjoyed reading for you to pick from! The giveaway is for one of the books listed below. If the book is not yet released, we will pre-order it for you. Please read the rules above the Rafflecopter and Good Luck!

Click a book cover to learn more about it!
I apologize for the funny spacing, it seems my blog is having a bad day!

Rules: 1. One Entry Per Person/Per Household
2. Contest is International, please make sure The Book Depository Delivers to your country for free before entering. To be eligible, they must.
3. The Daily Tweet must be a new tweet, each day. You can not reuse the same URL over and over.
4. Must be 13+ to enter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Use The Linky Tool To HOP tot he next giveaway!

{Book Review + Interview} Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Pages: 384
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: July 31, 2012
My rating: 5 Birds

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.  
"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter,  New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series. 
So wrong for each other...and yet so right.
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.  Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.
click the cover above to add to your Goodreads TBR pile.

My Review:
Noah and Echo... Echo and Noah. Both of these characters were phenomenal. I fell in love with both of them from page 1, well more like Chapter 1 and 2 LOL because that's when you are introduced to each of them. It has not happened many times that I fall totally in LOVE with a book like this. Yes, I think it's sort of amazing that every book that I've read this year I have really liked... well, except for one and I make sure to tell you guys how amazing those books are. Well, this one is on a whole other level! Pushing The Limits is Phenomenal! First off I love Simon Elkeles and I heard that this book would be similar to his. While is has certain similarities let me assure you it is a story all of its own and you should read this! This is my favorite debut of this year!

Echo is a troubled and talented teenager with a love for all things artistic. In her past something very traumatic happened to her and she can't remember. Psychiatrists try to help, but when one pushes too far she exploded. Echo knows that this traumatic event has something to do with her mother and she wants to figure it out. Echo's Dad has always pushed her even when her brother Aires was alive, but when her brother died it got 10 times worse.

Noah is also troubled, he has been tossed from foster home to foster home and lost all rights to see his only living relatives "his brothers" after hitting his Foster Dad because he was going to beat a child. The problem is no one believes that Noah is a good kid until Mrs. Collins steps in! Mrs. Collins is who "accidentally" brings Echo and Noah together by doing counseling sessions with each of them and making Echo, Noah's tutor.

{Waiting on Wednesday} 32

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

See something you like here?
Click the book cover to add it to your Good Reads TBR List!

Paper Valentine
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Release Date: Jan 8th, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill

PAPER VALENTINE, in which a girl haunted by the troubled ghost of her best friend finds herself sucked into a darkly mesmerizing string of murders, in which a serial killer who leaves a paper-heart 'valentine' on his victims' bodies draws ever closer.

 

 

 

 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me a link in the comments so I can check it out too!

{Top Ten Tuesday} #29

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It was created because of their love of lists, and I myself love lists as well - so you will see it frequently popping up on MMSAI, although admittedly we have not done them in a while – let me tell you, we are happy to be back at it!

Everyone is welcome to join in, and don't worry if you can't think of 10 - just do as many as you can. And of course, be sure to link back to TBATB (and leave me a link here too!) on your post!
As always they are in no particular order.

This Weeks Topic is:
Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books

1. TEN by Gretchen McNeil – It may be because there’s a island like the one described in the book near my home, but the creepy atmosphere in TEN is all too real, and all too “shaking in your high heels” terrifying!
Ten will be released in September from Balzar + Bray

2. The Shade Series by Jeri Smith-Ready – In this series we travel from the US to Scotland and back. The settings are breathtaking to say the very least, and from what I understand (at least for the ones in Scotland) real!





3. The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff – Brenna’s ability to capture such a mesmerizing world (and underworld) will reel you in from page one! Next time someone tells you to “Go To Hell”, just read The Space Between. The Hell Brenna creates is unlike anything I would have ever imagines. rich with history and even beauty in it’s own, boiling hot way ;)



4. Velveteen by Daniel Marks – Hell not your thing? Okay try on Purgatory for size. Travel between worlds with Velveteen Monroe while she battles evils on both plains. Visit the amazing Paper Aviary, the cities and it's inhabitants in Purgatory and try, just try not to be fully sucked in and amazed at the greatness that is Daniel Marks.




5. The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab – The simplicity of an old tale told to scare children, with the lives of those realizing it might actually be true blended into it. The setting of The Near Witch is a tiny village with vast woods and fields surrounding it. As you read you can almost smell the damp leaves on the forest floor and the warm savory scent of fresh baked bread.



6. Hollywood Car Wash by Lori Culwell – This one may be so vivid to me because it’s not a far cry from being possible. Amy Spencer try’s out for a TV show and is launched to super star status. Hollywood proceeds to work it’s wicked ways on her, wanting her to lose weight, whiten her teeth and essentially change her self.




7. Divergent by Veronica Roth – I am SURE this is on everyone’s list, and really needs no explanation. But for anyone who’s lived under a rock for the past year, let’s just say Dystopian Chicago. Yea. It’s pretty great!








8. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen – Okay, it’s not YA but COME ON! Even with out the movie adaptation of the book, the setting of the circus in the 1930’s was so spectacular I always felt like I was really there!





9. Graceling by Kristin Cashore – The majesty of The Kingdoms is so fantastical, I couldn't put this one down when I started it.  Fighting, castles, Kings and Queens…you will want to visit when you are done reading it.





10. City of Bones (And the whole Mortal Instruments Series) by Cassandra Clare – Only Cassie Clare could take the average world and weave into it all the magical things that live in her books. To this day I wonder if there’s more than meets the eye when I’m walking around.

Agree or disagree with any of these? What’s on your list? Leave me a link so I can see them!