Books read in February

This month....
27. Your Own Sylvia by Stepanie Hemphill –260 pages
28. Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev –356 pages
29. This What I Did by Ann Ellis Dee –171 page
s30. Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Henderson –260 pages
31. The Second Virginity of Suzy Green by Sara Hantz –258 pages
32. Something Happened by Greg Logsted –201 pages
33. Heart Song by VC Andrews –378 pages
34. Mackenize, Lost and Found by Deborah Kerbel –249 pages
35. Evermore by Alyson Noel –306 pages
36. The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King –330 pages
37. Fade by Lisa Mcmann –248 Pages
38. Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simmers –247 pages
39. Raven by Allison Van Diepen –304 pages
40. Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine –245 pages
41. Death by Latte by Linda Gerber –203 pages
42. Before I Die by Jenny Downham –327 pages
43. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson –278 pages
44. Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin –195 pages
45. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler –241 pages
46. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella –309 pages
47. Exposed by Susan Vaught –330 pages
48. Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis –154 pages
49. Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith –307 pages
50. Envy by Anna Godbersen –409 pages

Pages read this month: 6668 pages
Reviews posted from these books: 2 books (Ugh! I need to do more reviews)
Books Owned: 7 books
Books from Library: 11 books
Books for Review: 5 books
Books borrowed: 1 book
My Favorite: Fade by Lisa Mcmann, I have been waiting for this book since Wake and it was amazing and I really loved it. This Month I read another great book, The Dust of 100 Dogs. I'll talk about it more in my review.
My Least Favorite: 48. Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis
It was interesting, I just couldn't get into it,

Challenge Update:
100+ Reading Challenge:50 read. 50 to go. Halfway point!
V.C. Andrews: Read Good Trash movement: 3 read. 8 to go

I am thinking about doing the Debut Author Challenge for 20, not sure...
Anyways, I hope you all had a great month and read lots.
Peace out, Sarah

Cover Art Saturday: Willow by Julia Hoban

Sorry for not doing this so wrong. I haven't been feeling all that great but it is back. Yay?
Summary: Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy —one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down.
Told in an extraordinary fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her.
I have heard such great thing about Willow. I love the cover. It seems like a girl with a secret and fits this summary. It also seems like she regrets a decision or a accident. I also love the Willow font and her hair. I adore this cover.
Peace out, Sarah.

Winner...

The winner of The Elite and In Too Deep is Sweetmelissa818. Melissa email me your address, so I can forward it it to Jennifer.
I am also giving extra entries to any future contest for Creativity and originality to Yan and Trublu93. Just remind me in the post, because I have the memory of a goldfish. Sorry for taking so long, my sister and I rented Torchwood: Season 1 and have been watching that this whole week. I also have a major cold and cough, and have been sleeping a lot. In a related note, I am going back to Doctor Who. I need to move to England just for BBC to save money.
Peace out, Sarah

Evermore by Alyson Noël

Rating(New and Improved hopefully):
Characters: 17/20
Setting: 8/10
Plot: 18/20
Originality: 17/20
Writing: 17/20
Recommendation: 8/10
Overall: 85/100 or B+
Sixteen year old Ever Bloom, has had a near death experience, in which she lost her parents, little sister, and dog. Now she can see auras, hear other's thought, and know every secret from a touch. She talks to her dead younger sister on a regular basis. She hides in baggy clothes, sunglasses, and an ipod. Until Damon Auguste enters the picture.
Damon is gorgeous, mysterious, and the only one that can block out all the psychic energy that she has been trying to avoid. Underneath it all, Ever thinks that he is hiding something. He doesn't have an aura (Only dead people don't have one), she can't read his thoughts, and he seems to be hiding a secret. The only thing that Ever is sure about is that she is falling for Damon, and she is falling hard.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and fairly addicting. Ever was really interesting and seemed pretty realistic. A problem that I had is that she would be sad about her parents and feel guilty, but it wasn't always present. That type of guilt would be a part of your skin and wouldn't be so random. I also had a problem with the Bella-like falling for a guy and the fact that Damon didn't seem to have any real bad characteristics. It was like "He is so hot, but I don't know anything about him..." I am crossing my fingers and hoping that will be solved in the next book. I loved Riley, she was a nice dose of humor even though she was dead.
I want to know more about Damon and Ever's powers, and I hope that it happens in the next book. I really like Noël's writing style. It made me want to read her books, because I have only read Saving Zoë. I think that it is a great start for a series. I have quite a few questions and hopefully those get answered. If you want a book about lost, love, and a touch of the Paranormal, you should enjoy this.
Peace out, Sarah
PS: I changed the rating system, because I felt that I was overrating sometimes on the 5 star system.

Wow... a contest

So, I am just giving you all a heads up on a contest that is starting tommorrow. Lisa Mantchev organized a huge scavenger hunt to giveaway some ARCs of Eyes like Stars. So make sure to check this out.

The Rules:

1) Contest limited to those in the USA. Apologies to our friends abroad, but these ARCs are being mailed out by the generous souls on the blogroll, and there will be other contests which will be eligible to readers overseas.

2) All entrants must be the age of 13 or older. Entrants 12 and under (if any) can be entered by their parents.

3) No family members of anyone connected with the Scavenger Hunt, please.

How To Play:

1) Players should start at Lisa's Blog (lisamantchev.livejournal.com) to get the Official Blogroll and List of Clues

2) Players then need to visit the blogs, collect the quotes, AND leave a comment (like a trail of bread crumbs... we want to know you actually did the leg work!)

3) E-mail Lisa with your list of quotes: lisa@lisamantchev.com

4) Prizes will awarded thusly: to those who collect the most quotes. Should more people remit the complete quote list than we have ARCs to give away, Lisa shall award the prizes by lottery/random drawing. She shall also retain the right to add extra ARCs to the prize pool at her discretion.

Fade by Lisa Mcmann

Rating: 5/5

Fade opens up just a few weeks after Wake wraps up. Janie and Cabel have start a relationship. They both aren't sure of how to feel about it, since they haven't had a real relationship or even felt close to anyone.
Janie is going undercover and infiltrating a sex scandal that is inside her school. A few calls have been made to a crime alert watch line, makes it seem that the teachers and students are fooling around. The captain wants them both to work together. Cabel doesn't want Janie to be on this one, but she makes the choice and is in.
Janie is learning more about her abilities and the draining effects that are present from a box of papers written by Miss Stubin.
After the outcome comes out, Cabel isn't able to handle the danger that Janie puts herself in and the relationship crumbles.
Mcmann's fast past plot and writing style is entertaining. It is fast paced and a real page turner. I really enjoyed going in to this further to this series. Also learning more about Janie's abilities was very entertaining and very fascinating. I love the characters. Cabel and Janie's relationship is really unique and interesting. I can't wait what to see happens in the next installment. There was also quite a bit of humor. If you like the first book, read this one for sure.
Peace out, Sarah

Blog Recommendation

So. I am just linking you to my best friend, Sierra. She kidnaps all my books and returns them weeks later. We also want to live in Powells(Who wouldn't?) and she dibs the YA bench... so unfair. We also dibs YA male characters, like James from Audrey, Wait! almost caused a fight... Anyways, she is clearly amazing. I am not sure what she is going to talk about since she is really random. But you should check out her blog.
Love Sarah
PS... The Picture is from La Push, since we are just obsessed like that.

In My Mailbox (week 3/4)

This is a In My Mailbox, started by The Story Siren Check it out here.

In Vlog form: I can't get it to work. I wiil try later. Link below.

Is anyone else having probelms with YouTube Videos on Blogger? The Youtube link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m8WSjOBsXU
My hair is puffy, but my glasses are pretty cool. Don't listen to my sister, I have room for books... just not on my bookshelf. I can still see the carpet. Anyways... Sorry that I didn't explain the books better, there were a lot.

Last Week:
Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag (Thanks Yan)
Red Glass by Laura Resau (May Readergirlz pick)
No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia(Current Readergirlz pick)
Take the Riens by Jessica Burkheart (Thanks Brooke Taylor)

Library books:
Graffi Girl by Kelly Parra
Death by Latte by Linda Gerber
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine

In the mail:
Vidalia in Paris by Sasha Watson (Thanks Claire)
Francey by Martin Dubow (Thanks Dominique)
Eyes like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
Mackenize, Lost and Found by Deborah Kerbel (Thanks Deborah)
Dark Angel by VC Andrews (Thanks Zoe)

From Amazon:
Fade by Lisa Mcmann
Raven by Allison Van Diepen
Amigas and School Scandals By Diana Rodriguez Wallach
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simmer

Happy Valentines Day, Sarah.

Contest: The Elite and In Too Deep...

I have been offered a copy of The Elite and In Too Deep to Giveaway.

Click Here to read my review of The Elite.

Click Here to read my review of In Too Deep.

How to enter:

1. Follow my blog and Jennifer's blog on google reader.

2. Leave a comment of your worst break up on this post by next Tuesday at 1 PM.

3. Only open to the US and Canada.

Good Luck to all.

Peace out, Sarah.

In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash

Rating: 4/5
In Too Deep carries very shortly after The Elite stopped. Casey and Drew are now an item, but she is still struggling to find her place. Madison is acting friendly-ish, but she still wants Drew back. She will do anything to make it happen Sophie is preparing to meet her birth mother and plan her Sweet Sixteen. She finds that it is easier to talk to Casey then her old friends. Phoebe is lost in her feelings for Jared, Sophie's brother and in her mom's secret affair. Drew is confused on, if he likes Casey or Madison more.
I really enjoyed it. The characters developed more since The Elite. Banash has really master at changing the narrators. Each character has a different story and it adds to the drama. Twisting it in the master plot. Their probelms are a bit more in depth as we learn their secret. In this sequel, some of the questions are answered, while other are created. Most of all this book, will leave with a major cliffhanger that will make you waiting for Simply Irresistible to come out on July 7th. Anyways, I hope you check it out.

Peace out, Sarah