Breathless Reads Tour including a stop at an awesome SoCal conference!

Guys, I am beyond excited and can not contain myself. Have you checked out the tour dates for the Breathless Reads tour yet? They are making stop all over the country! Here's their schedule. See if there is an event near you!

• February 15^th Anderson’s Bookshop Naperville, IL
• February 16^th Politics and Prose Bethesda, MD
• February 17^th Books of Wonder New York, NY
• February 18^th Towne Center Book and Café Collegeville, PA
• February 19^th The Doylestown Bookshop Doylestown, PA
• February 21^st Little Shop of Stories Decatur, GA
• February 22^nd Blue Willow Bookshop Houston, TX
• February 23^rd Barnes & Noble Frisco Frisco, TX
• February 24^th Once Upon A Time Montrose, CA
• February 25^th Passion and Prose Conference Long Beach, CA

Two stops in SoCal?! Lucky us! And oh my gosh, while I'm at it, can I just blabber on for a moment about the "Passion & Prose" Conference? Authors are ROCKSTARS! will be doing a "Road Trip" podcast from the event. We are so excited! It's a conference in its infancy, but we hope to see it become a SoCal book lovers staple! They have so many awesome guests including being part of the Breathless Reads tour. You should go to their website and check it out. It's a bit pricey, but I think it's going to be worth it. It's a whole day event including breakfast and lunch! Meg Cabot is even going to be there! SQUEE! Did I mention I was excited? :P

Not in SoCal but want to go? Heck, I think you should. My sister is flying out from Wisconsin to attend! It's gorgeous here right now. You can escape winter weather, meet awesome authors and then do some SoCal tourist stuff like visiting Hollywood, going on a studio tour (I recommend Warner Bros. Their studio tour rock!), etc. Yes, I know. I'm an evil enabler. If you do end up making a trip out here, be sure to stop by and say hi to us at the conference!

Okay enough blabbering on from me for now. Don't forget - we'll be interviewing author Beth Revis next week (February 3rd). Have a question you're just dying to ask her? Just leave a comment here or over on the podcast page. We'll have a post going up later today!

Happy Friday everyone!

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer (Nightshade Series)

Before I get into the juiciness of Andrea Cremer's series finale, "Bloodrose", first let me say - HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks. I think it's going to be a fantastic year. We have so many awesome interviews lined up for Authors are ROCKSTARS!, including one with Ms. Cremer. I'll also be participating in the Debut Author Challenge from The Story Siren and I set my Goodreads.com Reading Challenge goal to 100 books. I am determined to make this an awesome year for YA in my life. How about you? Anything exciting planned book wise?

Well I know that Dana B. and Angela who won my epic blogiversary giveaway are going to have an awesome start to the new year. Thank you so much to all that entered. Over 280 tickets involved! You guys ROCK. I'll get back to my monthly giveaways in February, so stay subscribed. I love giving away signed books. Also, be sure to head on over to the podcast. We do signed book and swag giveaways over there as well. :)

Now without further ado... my "Bloodrose" review!

Wow. I finished this book breathing a little heavy with tears in my eyes. After those evil cliffhangers in "Nightshade" and "Wolfsbane", you knew that Ms. Cremer was going to pack a punch with "Bloodrose". What a punch it was too! Seriously. My face still hurts. ;)

Without getting too spoilery, this book will make you so proud of Calla. She comes into her own as alpha and learns how to truly follow her heart. She finds her freedom as a wolf, as a person and as a woman in love. Have tissues ready, folks. The road isn't easy and is full of heart break and angst. I mean come on, that's essential to the recipe of a top notch action packed paranormal YA book, right? It'd be like making chicken noodle soup without the chicken.

Anyways, I personally loved the ending of this series and am excited to see what delicious works of art Ms. Cremer cooks up for us next.

If you have questions for Ms. Cremer, please leave a comment here and I'll include them in our list for her podcast interview on January 11th.

I was provided with an ARC of "Bloodrose" from the publisher, Philomel (Penguin). It is scheduled to be released tomorrow, January 3rd. Set your alarms so you can be at the bookstore at open to get this fabulous series finale.

Top Ten Tuesday - What do you have coming up on your list?

I'm trying not to become a regular meme-aholic. However, this week's Top Ten Tuesday is something I spend a lot of time thinking about. I tinker around with my "to-read" shelf on Goodreads.com waaaay more than I'd like to admit. Somedays, I order it by preference. Sometimes, it's my "to review" order. I never can decide! And on days where I go on an adding rampage, it's a whole jumbled mess!

So, today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is to post your Top Ten "to be read" for the Winter. Picking just 10 books was TOUGH, but I think I've got it. Some of these aren't out until spring/summer, so I guess, technically I'm cheating, but the ARCs will be out in the winter. That counts, right?

1. The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare - I'm reading "Clockwork Angel" right now. I seriously cannot believe I didn't read this book immediately when it came out. It is so fun! I love steampunky/Victorian goodness and Clare's books are always so much fun. I am lucky enough to have one of the rare ARCs headed my way courtesy of Michelle Hodkin. I won her Twitter giveaway! :D :D
2. Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay - this book just sounds so sweet. I can't resist it. It's been awhile since I've read a contemporary love story and this one is in verse. I've always been apprehensive about reading books in verse, but I'm going to give it a shot.
3. Tempest by Julie Cross - this book just has my name written all over it. All you have to say is "Time Travel". Come on...what Doctor Who fan isn't a lover of time travel books?
4. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale - Do I seriously need to explain this to you? SHANNON HALE. 'Nuff said. (BTW, if you haven't listened to her on our podcast, you should go, like, now. She's amazing.)
5. Everneath by Brodi Ashton - I'm normally not a cover girl, but man. This cover has me intrigued. That dress and the mist? I'm already intrigued. As you may know from my reviews of Abandon and The Goddess Test, I love the Persephone myth.
6. Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown - Mermaids + Lake Superior. COME ON PEOPLE. You are going to make me broke in 2012!! ;)
7. The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges - This book just sounds different and fascinating. 1800s Russian aristocracy, dangerous secrets, and romance? Mmm mmm.
8. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer - Okay. I'm cheating. I already read it, but it does come out this winter. It's a fabulous finale to the intense wolfy triology.
9. A Million Suns by Beth Revis - I adored Across the Universe, so I cannot wait to find out what's happening next to Amy & Elder.
10. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows - This book sounds so emotionally powerful. I'll have to make sure it's in between some lighter books. I can already tell that it's going to be a tear jerker.

Phew! Well that's all for me. What is your "to be read" list looking like?

For those of you who are new visitors, be sure to check out big ol' anniversary giveaway page. It just started today! :)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Go to their blog to join in on the fun.

In My Mailbox - November 27th!

Hi folks! I haven't done this in awhile, but I just had to share because I am SO excited. Seriously, I was so excited that getting my new car elicited less of a happy dance. (Yes, I happy dance. My husband tells me that my dances remind him of Tina Fey's character Liz Lemon on 30 Rock. I take that as a compliment because she is AWESOME. Hehe!)

It's been a quiet few weeks for me as I recover from everything that is going on. I haven't been reading as much as usual (only one book a week.. GASP!), but I'm getting back into the swing of things now.

Anyways... moving on to IMM and me making all of you jealous! ;)


I KNOW RIGHT!?!?! You should have seen my Liz Lemon-esque happy dance when this arrived. I have already dived in, but am trying to savor it which is SO HARD. OMG I WANT TO KNOOOOOW. I am totally a Shay gal, but man... that Ren is getting more and more appealing. Who do you guys like? :) Share your thoughts!

Also - new visitors, be sure to check out my anniversary giveaway prize announcement from earlier this week.

Until next time... ;)

Nightshade and Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

I devoured “Nightshade” and “Wolfsbane” by Andrea Cremer over a period of 48 hours and they were delicious. Seriously, these books are worth staying up late for.. and that’s a big sacrifice considering I have a toddler who thinks 5:30AM is a wonderful time to be awake. What makes them so great? Well let’s review Michelle’s paranormal/fantasy YA romance checklist and talk about it, shall we?

• Strong female heroine - CHECK. Calla is KICK ASS. She not only possesses some awesome powers and skills from being able to transform into a wolf, but she’s a strong willed person. The events of this book rock her safe little world and she has to deal with emotions she hasn’t really experienced. I loved seeing Calla discover her own vulnerability and the injustices in her world’s society. I look forward to seeing her grow more from these experiences in the third book.
• Love triangle (and not one of those “wimpy maybe I sorta like this guy, but this guy is clearly the winner despite guy #2”) - CHECK and it is angst-i-licious. Yes, so much that I had to make up a word for it.
• Creative Paranormal/Fantasy elements - CHECK! I love the world within our world that Ms. Cremer has created.
• Good writing - again, CHECK-A-ROONY. Ms. Cremer’s writing is exciting and fluid. I didn’t ever feel the need to stop because of some bad phrasing or ridiculous situation. She does a great job at foreshadowing without frustrating the reader (a problem I’ve run into a lot recently in YA paranormal books) and she didn’t do any crazy deus ex machina stuff to rush through explanations. She was able to maintain an element of suspense throughout while giving the reader little bursts of knowledge. Well done, Ms. Cremer.
• Great action sequences and suspense - I know I already mentioned this when I discussed the writing, but wow. Ms. Cremer got my heart pounding during some of these big action sequences.

Yeah, so I’d have to say Ms. Cremer’s “Nightshade” series is all that and a bag of chips. If you like paranormal/fantasy young adult romance, this should DEFINITELY be on your list. I know that the genre is an acquired taste, but it’s one of my favorites. I am anxiously awaiting the third book in this triology.

I was provided with an ARC of "Wolfsbane" by the publisher at the ALA Midwinter Conference. "Nightshade" is already available and "Wolfsbane" will be released in July of this year. It is published by Philomel (Penguin). Go to your local bookstore or library and pick up a copy of Nightshade today.