MAX Promotional Prize Pack!!!

If you've been to Carol's blog (or, actually, a lot of blogs right now) I'm sure you've seen this already... but you can consider this a double opportunity to win, as well as something too good to pass up (I know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to host this awesome promotional giveaway... these books are amazing!)

ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS!

MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE.

Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series.
On sale in paperback 09/01/09!

Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction?

Two (2) winners will receive a James Patterson Prize Pack:

• Maximum Ride: Max (paperback)
• Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (paperback)
• Maximum Ride: School’s Out – Forever (paperback)
• Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (paperback)
• Maximum Ride: The Final Warning (paperback)
• Maximum Ride: Manga (paperback)
• The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (paperback)
• Daniel X: Watch the Skies (hardcover)
  
  

To win:

- comment on this post with your email address OR email me with Max Promotion in the subject

For an additional entry:
- follow my blog
- post a link to this post on your blog/facebook/etc.

This contest will end at eight o' clock PM (my time) on September 15th.

Good luck! Even if you don't win, go out and read some James Patterson books, now!

The Fine Print:

The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 2009. There will be two prizes for each Promotion. Each prize consists of the following eight (8) books: Maximum Ride: Max (paperback); Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (paperback); Maximum Ride: School’s Out – Forever (paperback); Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (paperback); Maximum Ride: The Final Warning (paperback); Maximum Ride: Manga (paperback); The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (paperback); and Daniel X: Watch the Skies (hardcover). The approximate retail value of each prize is $72.00. Winners will be confirmed on or about September 28, 2009 by email. Prizes will only be shipped to confirmed winners with addresses in the US. Prizes will be shipped within 30 days after a selected entrant is confirmed as a winner.

Crash Into Me by Albert Borris

Title: Crash Into Me

Author: Albert Borris

Summary:

Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: they all want to die. When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, the four teens make a deadly pact: they will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will all end their lives. As they drive cross-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up, and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living--or if there's no turning back.

Rating: 4/5

Review:

Since I read the summary, this book has been high on my list. When I bought it, I couldn't wait to start reading it.

It started off well. I really liked how no important information was just given out, and you had to read more to learn what you wanted to know. It built suspense perfectly from the first page, and with a book like this it's very important to want to know more. And I did; the characters all intrigued me, simply because it was such an unlikely group with the exception of one common trait: they all wanted to die.

Not only did I love the suicide aspect of the book, I loved the road trip. Road trips in general fascinate me. However, that part was sort of disappointing. When a group of people are traveling across the country, I expect details. I want to know what's going on, and this road trip went way too smoothly for my taste. Everything was too convenient; none of their parents were suspicious at all? The credit card always had enough money no matter what they bought? It seemed unrealistic.

Even through the lack of details and the unrealistic factor, I still found this book extremely enjoyable. It was interesting and kept me guessing until the end, which I really liked. Also, it was filled with hilarious lists, which I think always make a book better. They threw in a touch of humor into what would under normal circumstances be an all-out depressing book.

Overall, a good read, and recommended.

just joined...

I just joined Book Mooch, which makes me wish I had discovered it a long time ago.

Anyone else on there that feels like friending me?

Waiting on Wednesday

It all started here. :)

Release Date: April 6, 2010

No official summary, but from Elizabeth's blog:

The Unwritten Rule is a story about a girl, Sarah, who falls for her best friend's boyfriend. As you can probably guess, things get really complicated really fast and The Unwritten Rule is about friendship and family and love and the agony of breaking that unwritten rule about falling for your friends' boyfriends (especially you best friend's boyfriend!) (and of course, now you know how I got the title too!)

It's still so far away, but I absolutely adore Elizabeth Scott and I am extremely excited!

<3 Chelsie

Teen Tuesday

We have some new recruits to Teen Tuesday, and personally I am trying to get back into it. I posted this week, as well as a few others, and you can view them all on the blog.

It would be so great if some older members wanted to post, or at least peek around a little. And as always new members are welcome as well.

<3 Chelsie

Grayrider by Bruce Skye

Title: Grayrider

Author: Bruce Skye

Summary:

Fantasy meets medieval magic in Grayrider. This novel spans the gamut—think Tolkienesque with a suspense-filled punch of chivalry! This is story-telling at its best where kings, sorceresses, and memorable heroes create an impression that you’ll remember long after you’ve finished reading. Step into the land of Boadhagh, where an exiled king, Gabriel brings word to King Airell of an impending attack from the Ansgarian army—the same army that murdered his family. King Airell has no men to stave off the attack, so Gabriel takes matters into his own hands. The beautiful sorceress and daughter of King Airell, Deidre, learns that her mentor created the violent Ansgarians and leaves her kingdom to warn her father. They join forces to defeat their mutual foe—and as they fight together, Gabriel and Deidre fall in love. Tragedy, love, revenge, defeat, and grief are played out with insightful precision through Skye’s characters. The story builds to a crescendo and the ending’s dramatic climax will stay in your memory long after the final page is turned.

Rating: 3/5

Review:

I’ve never been the hugest fan of fantasy novels like this one; they tend to drag on and on for me. However, this one I liked.

First of all, the novel was short. There wasn’t any spreading things out to create 500 pages of nothing but fluff. It was short, sweet, and to the point. The focus was on the two main characters, and the battle that occurs throughout much of the book. I liked how it didn’t stray and talk about this thing, or that thing, or anything else. Simplicity is something that I think works well with this kind of book.

That being said, I liked the book a lot more than I thought I would. I was slightly wary about starting it, worried that I wouldn’t like it, and it would take me forever to get into. I shouldn’t have worried. Now, I’m not saying that I loved the book so much that I sped through it as fast as possible. I did get bored at some points, and I was capable of putting the book aside in favor of other activities. But I was still interested in the story, and interested in what would happen, enough for me to come back for more.

As a not-so-fantasy-fan (or at least, not fantasy of this sort), I can’t really say that this is a great book. But I can say that I enjoyed reading it, and would recommend it someone who is perhaps more of a fantasy type person than I am.

Ruby's Imagine by Kim Antieau

Title: Ruby's Imagine

Author: Kim Antieau

Summary:

A storm is coming. Big Oak told Ruby Butterfly and Ruby Butterfly told Ruby the girl. But how does Ruby the girl tell everyone else? Her grandmother, Mammaloose, will say it’s Ruby’s imagination—not real. Like Ruby’s memories of her mama and daddy—just make-believe. But this storm isn’t make-believe. It’s coming hard and strong, set to destroy everything in its path. And if the storm is real, maybe Ruby’s memories are, too.

Rating: 3/5

Review:

I knew as soon as I finished the first page that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary story. Ruby, the main character, is someone who sort of lives in her own world a lot of the time. She has her own way of speaking, with different names for ordinary things, like birds and trees. This was obvious from the very first page; as was the fact that something big was going to happen.

I liked this book. It goes through the events of Hurricane Katrina through a new perspective: Ruby’s. She knows the storm is coming, but she also knows that nobody will believe her. She continues on with her life, thinking about her friends and her family that she’s never known. Her life is really something interesting, and I almost wish that I could have gotten to see a bigger picture. There were a lot of things that weren’t described in too much detail, and Ruby is such an interesting character that I wanted to know more.

With such a big event occurring in this book, I thought it fell slightly short of expectations. A lot of the novel was about Ruby, and the rest of it was about the hurricane, I had a hard time figuring out what the main purpose was. Was it to describe Ruby and her family situation, or to talk about the hurricane? I am left slightly confused, and so I can’t say that this book will really stick with me for very long.

browsing the web (oh how I love this subject...)

I have just discovered something very important to me :)

This book will be released on April 13, 2010.

That is way too far away for me, but it's okay because for a long time I wasn't even sure if there was going to be a third book at all.
You can read my not-so-stellar review of Kiss Me, Kill Me here

and wait for my oh-so-stellar review of it's sequel, Kisses and Lies, coming soon :)

<3 Chelsie

PS. The third cover is the best yet :)

How to be Bad by Lauren Myracle, E. Lockhart, and Sarah Mlynowski

Title: How to be Bad

Author(s): Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mlynowski, and E. Lockhart

Summary:

From the authors of ttyl, Bras & Broomsticks, and The Boyfriend List come three unforgettable characters—and one exhilarating novel

Vicks is the wild child whose boyfriend has gone suspiciously quiet since he left for college; Mel is the newcomer desperate to be liked; and Jesse will do anything to avoid a life-altering secret. Each one has her own reason for wanting to get the heck out of their nowheresville town, even just for the weekend. So they climb into Jesse's mom's "borrowed" station wagon and head south.

Hearts will be broken, friendships will be tested, and a ridiculously hot stranger could change the course of everything.

Rating: 3/5

Review:

I have read at least one of each of these author’s books; in Mlynowski and Lockhart’s case, I’ve read more than one. So when I picked up this book and started reading, I knew ahead of time the type of story I could expect to read. I knew the authors’ style, and I knew that they were (are) all good authors. Not my absolute favorite ever, but good.

Knowing this, you’d think that I would have read this book right when I got it. Last May. Or was it April? I don’t remember. All I know is that it took me way too long to actually get in the right mood to read it.

When I did, though, I was hooked. The three girls were so interesting, and I fell in love with, of all things, the conflicts. Three girls with different personalities, going on a road trip? Ah, the possibilities!

Early in the novel, I had the general direction of the book mapped out in my head. I knew exactly where it should have gone, and I would have been extremely disappointed if it went astray. Looking back, I don’t remember exactly what I thought would happen. All I know is that it didn’t happen; but the direction taken was one that I was happy with regardless.

To be honest, I don’t have too much to say about the book. There were parts where I got bored, there were parts where I bawled my eyes out, and there were parts that I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. And at the end of the day, I got what I expected out of it; nothing too amazing, but enough to satisfy.

I'm back!

After a long, long, long, long, long absence (or so it seemed) I now have internet back in my home.

Due to this, there will be regular updates. And reviews. And maybe I'll get creative and do something fun and different for a change. But for now I'll just start with catching up on some stuff I've missed.

Thank you to my loyal readers... I know I probably don't have (m)any but I hope that will change soon.

TTFN,
Chelsie