Sunday 28 August 2011

Winner of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

So sorry to everyone who entered that I didn't get this up sooner! I started high school a few weeks ago and everything is crazy right now.

I used RANDOM.ORG to figure out the winner!

Out of 51 entries the number I got was 11:














Number 11 was Shelbie and Amanda for following me! Congrats!! I will be contacting you so I can get all of your info and I can send that book right on your way!

Thank you everyone so much for entering! More giveaways to come.


Passion by Lauren Kate (Review)

Genre: Paranormal
Number of Pages: 420
For ages 13+

"Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever." -Goodreads

This is the other book that I got at the book store a few weeks ago. I was somewhat excited about it. The truth is, I didn't necessarily like the second book. The first one was fantastic. I was turning pages always needing to read more. Then, I read the second book, thinking it was going to be just as amazing, but sadly, it was not. So here I was, finding the third book, not sure what to do. I decided I would give it a go!

Passion by Lauren Kate was MUCH better than Torment. Torment was a lot like those second books. Kind of like a filler for the third. Unfortunately, there's a lot of those, lately. Passion made up for it, mostly! I was reading the reviews for it on Goodreads and it comes to show that not everyone is going to like the same book.

I hadn't read the Fallen series in a while, so I kind of had to get back into that "series" mode. I had to dig into my brain in all of the books I've read and find Torment, and then try and figure out what happened at the end of that book that started everything?

Luce was still the same, from what I can remember. She was trying to go back and find out what started the curse between her and Daniel. Frankly, I wanted to start screaming because every single time she went more into the past Daniel would be right behind her ALWAYS missing her. GAHHHH! It was quite frustrating, to me. I know, I know, It was supposed to be like that but, COME ON?!

Daniel: still swoon worthy as EVER. Oh my word. I knew I loved that boy. There was definitely romance in this book, but I couldn't help being "jealous" for Luce when I saw her past lives in love with Daniel. I'm weird like that. I kept telling myself, "It's her. It's still her in love with Daniel." I know, I'm a little off, but it's true.

I would just like to say, that cliff hanger was like the perfect kind. That's all I'm gonna say. I don't want to ruin it for all of you who may read it in the future.

I wouldn't say this book was as amazing as the first one. I think Lauren is still trying to get back into the swing of things. That's how a lot of series are, though. Not a lot of them can live up to the potential to the first book. Hopefully, though, the last one will be just as good as the first.

I give this book 4 out of 5 diva crowns. I do recommend it. Really, I do. It was much better than Torment, but not as good as Fallen.

(Sorry for that scatter brained review, everyone. For someone reason my head wont come up with anything witty. *SIGH*)




Sunday 21 August 2011

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers (Review)

Genre: Paranormal
Number of Pages: 400
For ages 14+ for limited strong language

"Luc Cain was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately—thanks to Frannie Cavanaugh and the unique power she never realized she had. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences, and suddenly Frannie and Luc find themselves targeted by the same demons who used to be Luc’s allies.

Left with few options, Frannie and Luc accept the protection of Heaven and one of its most powerful angels, Gabe. Unfortunately, Luc isn’t the only one affected by Frannie, and it isn’t long before Gabe realizes that being around her is too…tempting. Rather than risk losing his wings, he leaves Frannie and Luc under the protection of her recently-acquired guardian angel.

Which would be fine, but Gabe is barely out the door before an assortment of demons appears—and they’re not leaving without dragging Luc back to Hell with them. Hell won’t give up and Heaven won’t give in. Frannie’s guardian exercises all the power he has to keep them away, but the demons are willing to hurt anyone close to Frannie in order to get what they want. It will take everything she has and then some to stay out of Hell’s grasp.

And not everyone will get out of it alive." -Goodreads

I was so worried I was not gonna get this book read in time. Holy Cow. My first day of high school started this week and this weekend I had homework in 5 of my classes. Oh joy.

I was at Barnes & Noble the other day with my friend, Megan. (Yes, the same Megan from last post) ;) We were waiting for my mom to pick us up from the movies so we headed over to the bookstore to wait. ( We saw The Help. AWESOME MOVIE!) Anyways, even if I'm going into Barnes & Noble to wait, I'm most likely gonna buy something. It's like surrounding you with delicious food when you're starving to death. You're most likely going to eat the food, right? Well, you should. I got two books. I got Passion, the third book in the Fallen series, and Original Sin. Unfortunately, I didn't pay enough attention, because Original Sin is the SECOND book in the series. Not the first. I wanted to read that book NOW, and I didn't want to have to wait to get the first, (I'm impatient okay?!) so I just decided to go along with it and read it anyways.

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers was beyond better than expected! She also did an awesome job on catching you up on the first book. I would have been so lost if she hadn't "recapped" it, so to speak. (Look at me sounding all intelligent!) It had the things that I love in books. Two swoon worthy guys, and a booty kicking main character.

Frannie is not your average YA main character. She can kick some booty. She's also one lucky girl, because she has this thing called, "sway." When she uses it the correct way she can persuade anyone. Who wouldn't want that power? WHO?! If you find someone, tell them to contact me so I can knock some sense into them.

So not only was there ONE swoon worthy guy, there were TWO. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? This book had me swooning a. lot. Luc, he's a demon, right? Yet, I love him so darn much! Then there's Gabe. He's a really cute angel. WHAT?! I can't take it. They are AWESOME, and they both love Frannie. Win win, right?

I can not tell you how many times I started talking to myself throughout this book. "DON'T DO IT, FRANNIE!" "STAY HOME" "DON'T GIVE IN!" I'm sure my siblings have now confirmed I truly am crazy. I've known this statement to be true pretty much since I started to talk, but for my siblings, that probably confirmed their questioning to be correct.

This was a pretty amazing book. I will ABSOLUTELY be reading the third book when it comes out. Maybe then I will read the first book, then the second, then the third. I suggest this book to paranormal romance lovers. You won't be disappointed.


I give this book 5 out of 5 diva crowns! Two words: overwhelmingly amazing.




Sunday 14 August 2011

The Keepers (Review) by Monique O'Connor James

Genre: Paranormal
Number of Pages: 344
For ages 13+

"Jess denies God. In his infinite wisdom, he’s taken everyone she’s ever loved. Moving to the French Quarter was a ploy to erase the guilt she felt for rebuking her faith. Perhaps, if she hadn’t met Justin, an angel preoccupied with getting back into God’s good graces, and drowning in his hatred for humanity, her plan would have worked. Justin’s general disdain for the human race makes him difficult to like, but some higher power has appointed him her keeper. Justin’s convinced he can mend her broken relationship with her maker, but in the process he learns a thing or two about his own humanity. Never mind falling in love, that’s not supposed to happen. In fact, it may even be forbidden. Jess just wants Justin to understand her plight, and he wants to protect her from a world she doesn’t know. If neither are equipped to save the other, then whose soul will live and whose will perish?" -Goodreads

*This ebook was given to me for an honest review.*

The Keepers by Monique O'Connor James was a FANTASTIC book. I had just put up my "contact me" page and a day later I had a request. You have no idea how excited I was. I was just nonchalantly reading my email while my friend,Megan, was over and I see I have a request. I seriously started screaming, which did scare Megan. ;) So.. not only was it my first request but it was an AWESOME book. Awesome all around.

From page one I was hooked. It starts with Jess at her mothers funeral. Jess had had so much hurt in her life, and so much death. I really felt her pain. I know how it is to lose a parent, so it was something her and I had in common. I felt a special "bond" with Jess because of her hurt. That's why Jess, out of a lot of YA characters, touched me the most.

Justin was one cute angel. If you look at my list on the right, you'll see I have already added him to my "swoon worthy boy characters list." He's quite the stubborn guy, I have to say. But he's well worth it. I love Jess and Justin's relationship with each other. They're always bickering, but at the end of the day they still love each other. I think that they are perfect for each other. <3

One thing that I think kind of threw me off was, three of the characters had their name start with, J. It confused me at the beginning of the book because I didn't know if Jess's brother's name was Jordan or Justin, but I did finally figure it out and all was well.

I definitely suggest you should get this book. It was a FANTABULOUS read. Yes, fantabulous. I love that word. Sometimes my stereotypical teenage girl needs to come out, okay?! Anyways, I highly recommend this book for paranormal romance lovers. It has all of the things I look for in a paranormal romance and then some. So, therefore, I give this book 5 out of 5 diva crowns. :)


















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Don't forget you have ONE MORE WEEK to enter my giveaway for the ARC, Daughter of Smoke and Bone! Not a lot of people have entered so we need to keep the entries comin'! Go here to enter! Please share! <3

Monday 8 August 2011

Winner of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi!

Thanks so much for entering everyone! I had so much fun seeing all of your answers and powers!

Now I will draw the winner..... (Excuse the rambling and ridiculous hand gestures.) ;D




Congratulations! I will be emailing you with all of the details!

Now go check out my newest giveaway! Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Go here!


Thanks again for entering! More giveaways to come.



Sunday 7 August 2011

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (ARC Review) and Giveaway! *CLOSED*

Genre: Paranormal
Number of Pages: 432
For ages 14+

"Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?" -Goodreads

I was definitely excited to read this book because a lot of people were raving about it. When I first began to read I was getting a little bit discouraged because it wasn't interesting me as much as I though it would. I kept getting reassurance from people that it did get better. And in fact, it did!

Karou was a strong character whose personality stuck to you like glue. She was a character that didn't take "crud" from other people. Plus, she could kick anyone's butt! She was, without a doubt, a unique character. She didn't blend in with the normal forgettable YA characters.

One thing I was worried about was the lack of romance. I was more than 100 pages in before it got to the romance which, isn't my sort of thing, but oh well. Finally, though, there was romance. And boy, was it worth reading all those pages. Akiva and Karou are like the perfect couple in the not-so-perfect way.

This book was so complex that it blew my mind. That's right, it blew my mind! Sometimes, I couldn't even rap my head around the story line of this book. Sometimes I did get confused, but other times I would have to just put the book down and pull my jaw up from being on the floor.

I really loved this book. When it comes out in September I'll probably be reading it again because there were so many important details that I may have missed by being distracted. Because, unfortunately, I got very distracted while reading this book. Like I am getting distracted now by listening to the theme song of Wow Wow Wubbzy.

I can not wait for this book to come and have everyone read this book. This book has all of my loves in it: paranormal, romance, demons, angels, hot guys, you know, the usual. I give this book 4 out of 5 diva crowns, just because I didn't REALLY get into it until the 100s.













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Now, you're probably wondering, "What's this special surprise??" Well, the special surprise is, I am ALSO going to be giving this book away!

I decided that I would give my new followers from the last giveaway a chance to become the "old followers" and get more points for this ARC. Unfortunately, this book is not signed. But still! You get a chance to read this AWESOME book before it comes out!

All the same rules apply, but for the new comers, it's +1 for new followers and +2 for old! You can also earn points by....

*Sharing my giveaway/review on your blog or twitter. +2 (Leave a link or tag me in your tweet, @SparkleJewelz)

*In the book Karou has a necklace with beads that she can make wishes on. So answer this in a comment, If you had a necklace like Karou, with only one bead left, what wish would you make? +1

Then total it all up in your comment.

Make sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win. Because if you win, and you didn't leave your email, then you may not know that you won!

This giveaway IS international. I feel bad for not having my last one international, so this one will be! :D

The deadline will be two weeks from now, just like my last giveaway. So, the deadline is, August, 21, 8:00 am Central time.

Good luck to everyone who enters and please share!