Dark Angel Giveaway Winner

Welp! The giveaway has finished, and I'm slightly overwhelmed by the amount of people who have entered. There were 161 entries. Wow, can you believe that?

I'd like to thank everyone who has entered, and, if you didn't win, don't give up hope. I have another giveaway planned which will hopefully have quite a few prizes.

So, without further ado, I present the winner of the giveaway

*drum roll*

Entry 38: Chrizette

I've sent you an email, and if I don't get a response within 48 hours, I'll be choosing another winner. 

 

 

Review: Passion

Passion by Lauren Kate

Pages: 420, paperback

ISBN: 9780385618083

Publisher: Doubleday

Date Released: June 16th, 2011

Genre: YA / romance / paranormal / angels / bad romance

Source: library

Premise:

Before Luce and Daniel met at Sword & Cross, before they fought the Immortals, they had already lived many lives. And so Luce, desperate to unlock the curse that condemns their love, must revisit her past incarnations in order to understand her fate. Each century, each life, holds a different clue. But Daniel is chasing her throughout the centuries before she has a chance to rewrite history. How many deaths can one true love endure? And can Luce and Daniel unlock their past in order to change their future?
(Taken from Goodreads)

*SPOILERS AHOY!*

I shouldn't be surprised that I hated this book. After what the first two books made me feel, I should have avoided Passion like the plague.

In My Mailbox (05)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where bloggers showcase the books they received over the week. 

I had a fantastic mailbox this week. I'm so excited for all the books I got, and have no idea what to start first. Have a look and tell me in the comments what you think I should start with. :)

Bought:

From top to bottom:

-The Drowning City by Amanda Downum; Pirates, thieves and necromancers? Man, this sounds like my kind of book!

- Ganymede by Cherie Priest; Can I just say 'AHHHHHHHHHH'? I love Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, and I'm so super excited to dig into the newest installment.

- The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson; So, I've been seeing talk about this book for a while, and apparently it has something to do with Jack the Ripper? That sounds like my cup of tea.

- Angel Arias by Marianne de Pierres; I still haven't read the first book, even though i own it, and it's signed, so maybe now that I have the second, I'll have more incentive to read it. Apparently it's great.

- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins; OH MY GOSH, I am so excited for this. I really loved Anna, and have high expectations for this one.

- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern; I've heard mixed reviews about this one, so I'm curious to check it out. Here's hoping I'll like it. *fingers crossed*

Won:

- Sisters Red by Jackson pearce; I won this from Jackson Pearce's #sweetly day. I kind of almost screamed when the postie came to drop it off. Thank you so much, Jackson!!! 

Library:

 - Special A by Maki Minami; I love manga, and I love discovering new manga. Has anyone read this series before? If so, what do you think of it?

- Love in Complete Sentences by Mary E. Mitchell; This looks... interesting. It's not usually what I go for, but I'm willing to try new things.

-Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep; I've been hearing talk about this series for a while now, and I really want to see what the fuss is about. Is this just another fad, or something worth reading?

- The Fear by Charlie Higson; This is the third book in the Enemy series, and OH MY GOSH, I am so excited to read this. The last two books kept me gnawing at my nails from the suspense. Seriously, guys, if you haven't read the first two books, do it immediately.

-Fables, vol 12: The Dark Ages by Bill Willingham; Man, this series is such a ride. I'm depressed that I'm slowly catching up to the current issues. Waiting a year or more for each volume is so not appealing. *sighs*

- Jack of Fables, vol 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Billingham; This is a spin-off series from Fables, so I'm sort of excited to start this. I want as much Fables as I can get my hands on.

What did you get in you mailboxes this week? What do you think of the books I got? Feel free to leave your links in the comments.

* Don't forget to enter my Dark Angel giveaway. It's international, and is open for only 6 more days.

In My Mailbox (04)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where bloggers showcase the books they received over the week.

My mailbox was quite lovely this week. I received an abundance of library books (of course), a couple of books from The Book Depository, and something that really surprised me.

Mail:

 From top to bottom:

- Geist by Philippa Ballantine; I love fantasy, and the cover is so amazing. It's done by the same guy who did the cover for the Theatre Illuminata series, Jason Chan

- The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey; I'd begun this book earlier in the year, but it was from the library, and I had to give it back half-read. But it was good enough for me to want to buy.

- Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington; This was a lovely gift from Hachette, as part of their reviewing program for Date a Book. I'd read and reviewed the first  book here on my blog, Embrace and have the second book waiting to have its review written up. Good series, and I'm so happy to have an early-release copy.

Library:

 From top to bottom:

- Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton; Man, I've really been digging this series. I'm in a sort of smutty paranormal romance mood, so this is right up my alley.

- All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin; I've been hearing interesting things about this book, and the premise is intriguing. Can't wait to check it out.

- Beautiful Days by Anna Godbersen; I'd read the first book earlier this year as part of my ABC Challenge, and I'm really interested in historicals set in the 1920's.

- Act of Faith by Kelly Gardiner; I really really really love historicals. And the premise looks interesting.

-Possess by Gretchen McNeil; Man, I've been waiting impatiently for this book for ages. It looks so creepy and awesome. So can't wait to dig in to this.

- The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh; This book has been on my radar for ages. I'm so ecstatic to finally be able to have it in my hands. So so so can't wait to read this one.

- Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Volume One by Laurell K. Hamilton &; Oooh, a graphic novel. I love graphic novels so much, and am ridiculously happy that popular urban fantasy series are getting turned into graphic novels.

- Fables: War and Pieces by Bill Willingham; This is the 11th volume of the Fables series, and man, I'm so excited to read this. The series has been a massive ride, and I totally recommend it to everyone.

So, that's it for my mailbox.
What did you get in you mailboxes this week? What do you think of the books I got? Feel free to leave your links in the comments.

Dark Angel Giveaway

So, I said I'd do a giveaway of Dark Angel by Eden Maguire, and here it is.

What's this book about?

Tania's heart belongs to Orlando. Nothing can rip them apart. Until the seduction begins in a flurry of glamour and magic, music and parties all orchestrated by the mysterious and mesmerising Zoran, an iconic rock star who has retired to a remote ranch in the nearby mountains. And there Tania meets the dark side. Can she resist temptation?
(Taken from Goodreads)

Sounds pretty neat huh? I also reviewed it last week, and rated it 3.5 stars.

So what do you have to do? It's easy, just fill out this form! :)
The contest closes at 12:01 am on the 8th of October. There'll be one winner. And yes, it is international. :)

In My Mailbox (03)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where bloggers showcase the books they received over the week.

I know, I know, I haven't been too active lately. And I don't really have a reason. I guess I'm just really lazy.
But! I promise to be more active. In fact, I have several posts queued up for the next week and a bit.

I haven't been getting too many books in the last few weeks. I went to a Maggie Stiefvater signing a couple of weeks ago, and got some books signed. And I've been taking advantage of the new releases in my library.
So without further ado, here is my mailbox:

Bought:

- The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell; I love zombies, so I had to snatch this up.

- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (signed!); I haven't read Linger yet, but I just can't have an unfinished series sitting on my shelves. Bonus: I got it signed! EEEEEeeeek!

- Lament and  Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater (signed as well); Well, I wasn't about to pass up a chance to get more books signed by Maggie. I also got my copies of Shiver and Linger signed, which makes me very happy.

In case anyone cares, here's a picture of myself with Maggie. Excuse my goofy smile. I get nervous when in the presence of anyone who manages to get published. Can I just say that Maggie is actually hilarious, and she should become a stand-up comedian? 

Library:

 From top to bottom:

- Supernaturally by Kiersten White; I really liked Paranormalcy, but I'm a bit hesitant in starting this.

- Alaska by Sue Saliba; I didn't quite like Sue's previous book, Something in the World Called Love, but I'm hoping this will be better. Plus, she's Aussie, so I want to check out all the talent.

- The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter; It's finally published in Australia, with a really weird new cover. I've been waiting to read this book for ages, and I'm not really expecting it to be good, since a lot of people whose opinions I trust seem to have ill opinions of it.

- Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman; Just something I picked up off the shelves in my poorly understocked library (all the other books had to be brought in from other branches)

- Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart; I've been hearing fantastic things about this book, but the poorly photoshopped cover is really putting me off.

- Bloodspell by Amalie Howard; I have no idea what to expect, but it looks and sounds really interesting. Hoping it's good.

- Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton; So, this is the third member of the Merry Sisters of Fate, and since I disliked Brenna Yovanoff's novel, and I wasn't much of a fan of Shiver, I'm hoping that third time's the charm. 

- The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan; It's so sad that Madigan is no longer with us. I'm interested in reading this book. I love mermaids, and wish there were more of them in fiction.

What did you get in you mailboxes this week? What do you think of the books I got? Feel free to leave your links in the comments.

Review: Dark Angel

Dark Angel by Eden Maguire

Pages: 398, paperback

ISBN: 9781444901863

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Date Released: August 4th, 2011

Genre: YA / romance / paranormal / angels

Source: review copy sent by Hachette

Premise:

Tania's heart belongs to Orlando. Nothing can rip them apart. Until the seduction begins in a flurry of glamour and magic, music and parties all orchestrated by the mysterious and mesmerising Zoran, an iconic rock star who has retired to a remote ranch in the nearby mountains. And there Tania meets the dark side. Can she resist temptation?
(Taken from Goodreads)

Buy it From: Book Depository / Amazon

Dark Angel was nothing like I expected it to be. To sum it up in one word, it was intense.

From the beginning, we’re introduced to one of the most terrifying of enemies: fire. Tania lives in a town surrounded by dense forests, where fires can start with little to no warning. I think it’s really imaginative to make a natural disaster like forest fires to be a prevalent source of tension, fear, and hope in the book. Fire is the worst enemy: it doesn’t have a motive, it doesn’t care who gets in its path, and when it’s strong enough, it’s nearly impossible to fight. But, on the other hand, fire can also bring about new life. And I love how Dark Angel embraces all of these points. Tania rises from the ashes to become a completely new person, someone who is strong enough to fight an even scarier enemy.

Angels are usually seen as something pure, innocent. It’s where we get the word angelic from. But the angels in this book are anything but. These angels kept me on the edge of my seat, kept me biting my nails, and kept me up until 3 or 4 am each night to find out what happens next. They are evil beings, their only motive is to destroy.

When Tania’s best friend, Grace, has a complete personality about-face, Tania knows that it’s up to her to save her. Grace suddenly begins to hang out with the beautiful, ridiculously talented and rich folk at the ranch. She abandons her friends and family. She hurts everyone around her. I really hated how Grace acted, but at the same time, I was scared for her. You could tell that it wasn’t her acting the way she was. There was something sinister behind her, and it was terrifying finding out.

The best thing about this book was the relationships between the characters. The characters were all very real, but it was their relationships that defined them. Grace and Tania the best friends. Grace and Jude, the perfect couple, always in love. Holly and Tania, the friends-who-are-only-friends-because-they’re-neighbours. Holly and Aaron, the on-again, off-again couple. And finally, Tania and the sexy Orlando, the couple that no one can get between. I fell in love with Orlando from the very beginning, and I felt as if I was friends with everyone else.

I think the only downfall of the book was the writing. While it wasn't horrible, it still could have been better. It felt like it was a first draft at times. And since Maguire has had 4 previous book published, you'd think that she'd have honed her writing skills.

I can’t wait for the sequel, Twisted Heart (pre-order it now.). I’d give up my first born child to read it now.

This is a book that everyone should dig into.

Also, since I have an extra copy of Dark Angel, and I'm feeling particularly generous, I'll be hosting a giveaway in a few days. So keep your eyes peeled for that. (Note: as I'm new and lacking in followers, it'll be a follower only giveaway, so be sure to click the join this site button!)

Cover Art: 2
Plot: 3.5
Characters: 4
Writing: 2
Level of Interest: 3.5

Total Rating: 3.5 stars