Hey Guys!

It's time for another fun giveaway hop! Eeeek! This is the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. I am having a blast with these hops, getting to know all kinds of new people, and giving away awesome books! Even though it's hot as hades this summer, I am enjoying cute summer outfits, summer mani's, and working on my tan! However, one of the things I love most are the lazy summer days, laying out on a beach towel and reading the afternoon away. What a perfect oppurtunity to share some of my fave summer reads with you!


For this contest I will be giving away an arc of your choice from the list below!





Since I will be paying for shipping, this giveaway is open to US addresses only! This contest starts NOW and ends midnight August 1st. I will announce ONE winner shortly after.

I am currently on vacation right now, so no rafflecopter. This one is gonna be super simple! You get a free entry, just leave me a way to get ahold of me if you win. It can be email or twitter handle, or your website if you have one. Whatever you feel comfortable with! You get 2 additonal entries for being a blog follower, and a another if you subscribe by email. That's 4 entries total. Just leave me a comment and let me know and I'll add your entries to the randomizer and announce a winner when the contest ends.

Good luck everyone! And don't forget to stop by some of the other awesome blogs participating in the hop!

Blog Tour Review: Frost

Frost (The Frost Chronicles #1) by Kate Avery Ellison

Release Date: April 18, 2012

Publisher: Create Space
Pages: 194
Buy The Book: Amazon 

In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, one wrong move and a person could 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 cold and threat of monster attacks or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides and failure 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 stranger named Gabe—Lia surprises herself and does the unthinkable.

She saves his life.

Giving shelter to the fugitive could get her in trouble. The Elders have always described the advanced society of people beyond the Frost, the “Farthers,” as ruthless and cruel. 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 the 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 every move she makes puts her in more danger.

Is compassion—and love—worth the risk?

I have actually been super excited for this book AND this blog tour. Eeek! I adore the cover to this book. It's beautiful, totally wintery ( is that even a word???) and gives off just enough mystery to such me into the story. Like...maybe there's a lot more going on beneath the books cover!

I loved the main character Lia. She was strong, fierce, but she was also loving and kind. She was a fantastic mix of everything I want in a heroine and I really enjoyed reading her story. Gabe was a likeable character, and I liked their relation ship. Although I seriously wanted to see more of his character and Adam's as well. Other than wanting more of the boys, I thought the character's were really well written.

I loved the way the story was written with the incredible mysterious plot thing going on. It kept me racing through the story to find out what will happen next. Which made this story fly by even faster! There were so many surprises and things I didn't see coming. I gasped and hid under the covers biting my nails the whole way through. This book had an incredible creepy factor that I seriously ate up! haha

This book was such a quick read for me. Partly because its short, and partly because it's written so well you just can't put it down. Part of me wanted it to be much longer so I wouldn't have to put it down so soon. All in all Frost was a really great story! It was well written, it moved quickly and I loved it. It was mysterious, creepy, and utterly fantastic! I highly recommend reading it!

Don't forget to stop by some of the other awesome blogs participating in the tour!

And don't forget to enter the rafflecopter below for your chance to win one of 10 ebooks of Frost!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting On Wednesday (28)

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

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

From the author of The New York Times bestselling series that began withFirst Grave on the Right—a thrilling Young Adult novel garnering high praise and early buzz from major authors.

Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace.  Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home.  For Lorelei, life goes on.


High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be.  Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it,  standing outside her house in the dark, night after night.  Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school.  Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity.  What does Jared know about her parents?  Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei?  And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?  

Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

"Unique, witty, and touching—I LOVED THIS BOOK!" —P.C. Cast, New York Times bestselling author of The House of Night Series

This book seems totally dark and mysterious and I for one am totally excited to read it! I can't wait to read this one. Eeek! Look for this book to release on October 2nd from St. Martin's Press.

What books are you looking forward to this year? 

The Princess of Storyland Goes on Vacation!

Hello Lovelies!

Some of you may remember that last month I went on a glorious 2 week vacay. Eeek! I hadn't had a real vacation in 2 years and it was very much needed. I had such a blast.  I've been intending to do a brief blog post with vacation pictures, but I just haven't had the time to do it. Some of you may have seen some of my vacation pics if you follow me on Twitter. For those of you who haven't...TA daaaa!

Every year for about 7 years now my family and I roadtrip our to way New Mexico durring the summer and rent a house there. Due to economic issues I wasn't able to go last year. And I really missed the family vacation time. *sighs* But due to penching my pennies very well this year it was ON!

Every year my Dad gets pretty upset over how much luggage us 3 woman bring along. This year we got smart and brought along a luggage carrier. Out of sight, out of mind!

For us Texan's, no road trip is complete without stopping at a bbq joint or two! This is one of our fave stops along the way!

A very tuckered out navigator. hehe My poor Pops!

Yep, at 6pm it was still 104 degree's in Texas. ACK! We felt like we were roasting in our car and the temp didn't drop down to 100 till around 8 that night. We couldn't wait to cross over to New Mexico into some much cooler weather!

I had never seen a tree like this before and I was floored to see it thriving in the New Mexican desert! It is so beautiful and I would love to plant one at home if I can ever find out what it is. Any ideas?

We've had the same rental for quite a while so I forgot to snap any pics of it. I did however wake up bright and early every morning to sit on the front porch and eat my breakfast while the sun rose. I was too busy observing to snap a pic, but you get the idea! ;)

Because we have been to New Mexico so many times, we have actually made friends in several cities. We always look forward to reuniting with everyone and catching up. This particular family invited us to their house for dinner the weekend we got in. I had not met them as my parents met them on their vacation their last year, which I wasn't able to  make. They were a super sweet family and I had a great time getting to know them! I forgot to snap any  pics of them or the gorgeous meal they cooked us. But they did take us for a walk. There are some amazing hiking and nature trails literally right outside their back door. It was absolutely stunning!

They said if you walk down far enough there is a beach. I nearly squealed! I wanted to walk down there one day with my beach towel and a good book in hand. But sadly we never had the time :(

Next up, the famous El Pinto! My mother did her research and found they had a fantastic Gluten Free menu for me! Yumm! 

The resturant was gorgeous inside and out!

I couldn't leave without grabbing a jar of their famous Green Chile sauce to bring back! Now our local grocery store is stalking all of their sauce's so thankfully next year I won't have to pack a trunk full of it! ;)

After our fantastic lunch...we HAD to walk it off. Trailhead park was gorgeous!

Next day we went to the world famous Chocolate Maven for lunch. My all time favorite resturant and the thing we look forward to most each year! As you can see they've won Best Resturant award every year since 2002!

The resturant makes the most amazing desert's and they've even been featured on the Food Network! We always sit upstairs in a super cute french tea room. I love it but downstairs you actually get to sit in the glass room and watch their employee's create their world famous pastries. We arrived early enough this year to actually get a seat. Eeek!

They have the most yummy breakfasts!

Just look at that big sandwhich! I don't think my Dad has ever been so quiet. haha

I was ecstatic this year to find they were making Gluten Free Cupcakes! Ahh!!! Cupcakes are my absolute fave and Gluten Free are so hard to find. Needless to say I bought every single GF cupcake in the building! haha

Famous Brownies as seen on the Food Network. I wish they made this GF too!

After beakfast we headed out to Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted. 

It was a 3 hour drive to get there, but it was totally worth it! Even the scenery  on the drive up was equally beautiful!

I can totally see why Georgia found so much inspiration here. Pictures do not even do Ghost Ranch justice! We decided next year we will come an extra week early to stay in one of the cabins at Ghost Ranch.

Artists come from all over to paint here.

One of the Indiana Jones movies was filmed here. I can't remember which one...I believe the last one?

I couldn't resist dropping a post card into Carl! 

My second favorite part of the trip, the shopping!!!

In Roswell New Mexico, Aliens lurk everywhere!

I didn't take as many pic's on our way back. I think I slept most of the way home. haha All in all we had a fantastic family vacation and I am super excited to do it again next year! :)

Have you gotten to do anything fun this summer? Go to a cool concert, or on vacation? I'd love to know so don't forget to let me know in the comments!

Review: Temptation

Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

Release Date: June 26, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 383
Buy The Book: Amazon

Your heart misleads you.  That's what my friends and family say.  But I love Noah. And he loves me.  We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be  ROSE & NOAH forever, easy. But it won't be. Because he's Amish. And I'm not.

I have always been fascinated by the Amish and their lifestyle. I think in many ways I admire their way of living, their peacefulness and their discipline. I seriously would love to go stay in an Amish community for like a week, churning butter and burping babies and what not! haha Seriously tho...I'd love it!

This book grabbed my attention when I first heard about it and I was dying to read it. This book seriously did not disappoint me! I tore into it like a crazed woman who has just found out chocolate exists. I couldn't put it down, and wound up taking it with me everywhere I went. Even to a convention I attended and found myself pulling it out of my bag, reading and biting my  nails when I totally should've been listening to the speaker.

The story was a beautiful love story in many ways. It's all about forbidden love *sighs* and of course temptation! ;) My heart went out to the two main character's, Rose and Noah. They are so in love, and all they want is to be together. And they are REALLY good kids! But yet their familes are making it even harder on them. House arrest? Please! I was frustrated FOR the character's in the book!

I've totally been there, loving the boy I really should not. Whether it be the bad boy you fell for, or someone you knew you shouldn't, I think we can all probably identify with Rose. I loved that as soon as her Dad moves her to a community that is primarily Amish, she never gawks at them or treats them like most modern teens would. She was respectful of them and their lifestyle and religous views, even though she may not have always agreed with it.

Noah *sighs* Noah, is one of my all time favorite male love interests in book. Right next to My Life Next Door. He made my heart beat, he made me smile and feel warm and fuzzy. He was a total sweet heart and at times he was overly protective, but really he was just trying to protect Rose from the "English" and all the horror stories he's heard. Together they were such a cute and sweet couple that totally balanced each other out. I was rooting for them the whole way through!

I was seriously glued to the book and I couldn't put it down until I had read every last word. It was a passionate and powerful tale of forbidden love that reminds us what love is all about in the first place! I loved this book and fell head over heels in love with it, and I think you will too!

I was so happy to find out there will be a second book in this series and I am dying for the next part of the story. The sneak peak at book 2 has me dying of anticipation. Eeek!

This Week In Books (6)

Hello Everyone and Happy Sunday!

This Week In Book's is a weekly feature from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie in which we share all the awesome bookish related items we got "this week"!

No vlog this week, I've had a crazy busy day Friday and I am just plain pooped! I am quite proud of myself for spending a few hours responding to comments and visiting blogs today. I got ridiculously behind and I am vowing (hold me to it guys!!!) to spend a little bit of time each day to this so I don't get so far behind ever again!

Gifted

Darkness Before Dawn

The Turning (eeek! One of my WoW picks!!!)

Valkyrie Rising (another WoW pick!!!)

The Diviner's 

This week I got a box of awesome from my good friend Michelle. She is a Texas blogger and a total sweetie! I always run into her at event's in the Texas area and it's always a blast catching up with her! This week Michelle sent me some awesome books. Yay!!! Thank you Michelle! :) 

For Review

On Fire by Nancy Holder

This is a teen wolf (I think that's right...) book. It's part of the new series on MTV. I'm not big into this kind of thing so I'm not sure that I will be reading this one. But still, BIG thank you to the folks at Simon and Schuster for the surprise package! YAY!!!

That's it for me this week. I feel like I'm missing something..haha Oh well. I hope you got some amazing things this week! Enjoy your summer!!! And as always...

Happy Reading! :)

Review: Nevermore

Nevermore (Nevermore #1) by Kelly Creagh

Release Date: August 31, 2010

Publisher: Atheneum 
Pages: 543
Buy The Book: Amazon

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.
 
Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.
 
As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.
 
His life depends on it.

Call me creepy, but I am an Edgar Allan Poe fan! So naturally, this book has always appealed to me. I'd been putting off reading it for quite a while but I am so glad I finally picked it up!

The story for me was amazing and totally confusing all at the same time! But yet, I still loved it! Isobel is the main character, and she seems to have it all. She's a popular cheerleader who is dating the star quarterback on the football team. She is the IT girl at the school. But her life suddenly changes when she is partnered with Varen for an English project, and her life will never be the same!

Isobel's world is torn upside down. She falls from her queen bee thrown, breaks up with her boyfriend, and is suddenly the most unpopular girl at school. She's drawn deeper into Varen's dream world of Poe that may be much more than just a dream!

I loved the Edgar Allan Poe elements to the story. It is so rich and full of this it totally made the story! I have to say, I was confused for most of the book. I had a hard time deciphering what was real, and what were "dream world" sequences. In the end, I really couldn't tell and I was just as confused in the beginning. At times it drove me nuts, and other times I was saying "whoa, this is totally brilliant!" . Despite that, I still really enjoyed this book and at the end I wanted the next book in the series and pronto!

The book itself is massive! Seriously...its HUGE! I honestly really dislike books this big, and there were times when I wanted to just give up reading it for that reason. For me, the book REALLY got going about 300 pages in and I couldn't put it down. I wish it had been edited better and a good 150 to 200 pages cut out. And then, I was just confused most of the time, wondering what was a dream from Varen's book, or what was actually real. Despite that though, I decided I really enjoyed this book. It was haunting and amazing, and a book I won't soon forget!

Waiting on Wedssday (27)

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

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.
 
Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood

Eeeek! I hope 2013 gets here, and FAST because I am absolutely dying to read this. Seriously!!! Gah!!!! I love the storyline, and I love, love, LOVE the cover! In fact, I want to BE the girl on the coveer! I just want to crawl into the book and read every last page. *sighs*

Sadly we still have a bit of a wait, this book doesn't release until January 29,2013. Argh!!! In the meantime, don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know what books your looking forward to!

Happy Reading!

ebook Steals and Deals

Hello Lovelies!

I found some pretty good ebook deals last week. But this week's deals are insanely amazing!!! I couldn't sleep last night and wound up perusing ebooks on amazon, and boy were there tons of great deals! My insomnia is your gain this week!

.99 cents!!



$1.59!


$1.99


$2.99!



$3.99!


Okay so I know Angels and Demons isn't YA lol But I LOVE this series! It's so amazing!!! If you read adult books make sure you check out ebook deals this week. There are some fantastic ones! You can get books from authors like Dan Brown, James Patterson, Debbie MacComber, Micheal Connelly and many more!

Will you be buying any of these ebooks this week? I know I did!