Beach Reading Giveaway! *This giveaway is now CLOSED!*

Well, hello everybody! Unfortunately, today I do not have a review because the book I just finished reading wasn't the greatest and there was no swooning involved which means I'M NOT REVIEWING IT! BUT what I do have today is a GIVEAWAY!! YAAAAAY!!! I've been wanting to do a giveaway for a while now but I haven't had the chance to do so but now I can!

The theme is readin' on the beach because I'm going to the beach next week and just because you guys aren't going doesn't mean you can't have the stuff anyways! Now, of course, I'm not AT the beach now so these pictures were taken in my backyard... Where there's grass and dirt. Sounds fun, right? Yeah...

Here's what I'll be giving away:

(Sunglasses not included. :( Sorry, those are mine!)

A SIGNED copy of Bloodlines by Richelle Meade because you HAVE to have reading material at the beach. I mean, how else are you going to pass away the time while you tan? And trust me, my pale self needs it....

I HAVE PROOF

A tumbler because you know you're gonna be getting thirsty and you're gonna need a stylin' tumbler instead of some old water bottle. Who needs those? (I almost spelled it "tumblr" because I have an obsession...)

(I'm kind of obsessed with the adorable straw)

A $10 gift card to Starbucks because you'll also need a cold, refreshing drink from Starbucks. Or a hot one, I don't judge.

And yes, I know there's a cupcake with a candle in it, but the gift card is sparkly and I love cupcakes so what's not to love about it?

And of course you'll need a super cute towel to lay on at the beach. No laying on the bare sand and getting it all in your suit. I hate that feeling!

So that, my friends, is it! 

To enter you MUST follow me on my blog! +1 for new followers and +2 for old ones! If you don't follow me but do any of the other options they won't count! To get even better chances of winning you can also...

1. Share this post on Twitter or your blog (leave me the link in the comments or tag me in your tweet, @SparkleJewelz) +1

2. Follow me on Twitter! @SparkleJewelz (make sure to leave me your Twitter name in the comments as well!) +1

3. You can also like my new blog page on Facebook! Click here! (Leave me your Facebook name in the comments!) +1

4. Answer this question in the comments: What's been your favorite read this summer? +1

If you do all of these things you have up to 5 or 6 chances of winning! YAY FOR WINNING!

Then add everything up and then comment your total! Also in your comment make sure you leave me your email address so I can contact you if you won! 

Unfortunately, due to my lack of funds in the babysitting department right now, this giveaway is NOT international. :( Sorry, friends! I would love to send it out to you but I'm a shopaholic and I spent all of my money in Europe! But feel free to stick around my blog for more giveaways to come!

This giveaway will be open for two weeks which means it will be over on the 21st of July at 12:00 AM central time! Then on Monday I'll post the winner so make sure to come back to check that out! 

Good luck to everyone who enters and thanks so much for reading and visiting my blog!

Hope everyone's week is filled with *SPARKLES!*

The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram (Review)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Number of Pages: 278

For ages 15+

"When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically. 

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest." -Goodreads

So I've been in Europe for about the past two weeks and before I went I new I was going to need some books to read on the eight hour flights and this book was PERFECT for keeping me entertained during those stuffy, cramped flights! Also I had read Kelly Oram's other book, V is for Virgin, and LOVED IT so I was hoping this one would be good to! ... It was beyond good. 

I loved Avery to death. She was super adorable, and shy, but she also had a determined spirit to her, which in my opinion became more evident because of a special boy with the name of Grayson. I'm just sayin'... I really felt for the poor girl. I mean, being best friends with someone for your whole entire life and then they decide they need "space." I MEAN REALLY? Not going to lie I was pretty angry at Aiden. I thought he was an utter and complete idiot. BUT he does redeem himself. And also without Aiden being an idiot we wouldn't have gotten the SWOON WORTHINESS of Grayson. And we cannot have that. Trust me. 

So now that we just so happened to get onto the subject of Grayson Kennedy I feel like we should maybe discuss this topic a little bit more because there is never TOO MUCH discussion about Grayson Kennedy. He is swoony as all get out. My stinkin' gravy. Like, he's literally swoony from the third page until the end. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? HOW? I'm pretty sure the man sitting next to me on the plane was a little worried for me because, yes, there were times where I would kind of get that really dumb, dopey look on my face and I wanted to be that girl who sighs and hugs her book to her chest. But, alas, I did not. Then I would've gotten some REALLY weird looks. Back to Grayson. He's the kind of character who looks super macho and tough and looks like someone who could care less but in reality he has insecurities just like everyone else. (Yeah, I figured that out all by myself. I'm deep.) He was SO STINKING SWEET to Avery and always wanted to protect her, always making sure he was doing what was best for her. Not to mention he was smoooooth. Also he called her Aves. AVES. HOW CUTE IS THAT?! And yes, so did other people, but coming from Grayson Kennedy it was adorable. He's goin' on the Swoon Worthy Boy List. Don't even act surprised.

And wow... That was a really long paragraph about Grayson Kennedy... Whoops. (I'm not really that sorry.)

On to things other than Grayson Kennedy even though we all know I could talk about him for about three more paragraphs. I loved how much Avery developed as a person throughout this book. She started out as a shy science "nerd" who had anxiety and as Grayson helped her face all of these obstacles she began to form into a more confident person. ALL BECAUSE OF A BOY NAMED GRAYSON. And now I'm talking about how swoony Grayson is again. Guys, I can't help it. 

I wanted this book to go on for so much longer then it did because the ending was so adorable. I honestly would not have minded at least three more chapters of just Grayson being adorable with Avery. I would have been perfectly content. But that's how books work, I guess. Darn conclusions.

If you couldn't tell by my humongously long paragraph about the main guy character, I'm in love with this book. It was funny, adorable, and filled with a whole bunch of swoon worthiness which is always a plus. Five out of five diva crowns! And four of those diva crowns are because of Grayson Kennedy. ...I have a problem.

Thanks everyone for reading and I hope your week is filled with *SPARKLES!*

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (ARC)

Genre: Fantasy

Number of Pages: 448

For ages 13+

"Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm." -Goodreads

So I haven't done in a review in who knows how long and school's out so LET'S DO THIS THANG. Also, I'm being a capsaholic today so don't mind the random shouting of words.

This book. HOLY STINKIN' COW. So amazing. I can't even put into words how amazing this book is. If you all remember my review of the first book, Shadow and Bone, you'll know I LOVED it and let me just tell you all this book was NO DIFFERENT.

I probably cried about mmm... I would say maybe FOUR TIMES. I don't think I have ever cried as hard while reading a book as I had reading this book. This book is pretty emotionally straining, not gonna lie. We can all thank Leigh for that one. I know she not so secretly loves it, though.

Alina? Amazing. Just plain amazing. I hadn't read Shadow and Bone in a while and I had forgotten just how hilarious this girl is. I mean, I would give you quotes but it's an ARC and I had it for about a week before I had to give it back. But take my word for it, she's awesome. Also, this girl goes through SO MUCH CRAP. Oh my gravy. This book is filled to the brim with heartache and sorrow. She has hard decisions being thrown at her left and right and to top it all off, she's got boyfriend issues too.

Which brings me to my next topic... FLIPPING MAL. This was pretty much the basis of all and every cry I had during this reading experience. There was one point where I literally set the book down, stared at the wall for a couple of seconds, and then had a good cry. And trust me it was a BLUBBERING, SOBBING, UGLY cry. It was plain torture and amazingness all rapped up into one. Mal is still super swoony and the romance is still there but it's strained and Alina and Mal have some rough patches. And if you are like me there may be some blubbering, sobbing, ugly, crying in your near future.

Not only is there Mal in this book but there's also the Darkling and ANOTHER GUY, Sturmhond. Leigh seriously knows how to write the swoony boys. I don't know how she does it, but she manages to write them QUITE well. Don't get me wrong I'm still a huge part of Team Mal, but Sturmhond may just change your mind. There's also that other guy, you know the Darkling. Yeah... I've finally decided how I feel about him. Wanna know? I VERY MUCH DISLIKE THE MAN. Sorry to say he is just plain evil in this book and you see no sign of the possibly sweet Darkling you thought you saw in the first book. That's not necessarily a bad thing, either. I mean, he is a villain after all. But it's sad to know that he didn't "redeem" himself in this book.

The ending will nearly kill you. You will be speechless and then if you're like me, you'll want to scream and yell and tell everyone you know what kind of emotional abuse you were just put through. But it is SO WORTH IT. This book is flawless and amazing and made me feel all the feels, some I didn't even realize I could feel when reading a book. If you want an example here's a text I sent to Trisha after I finished:

As you can see I didn't really take it all that well. But I got over it and now I get to wait who knows how long to wait for the next one to see just how all of this stuff is going to be resolved because I honestly have no idea. 

I was enthralled with this book from the first page to the last, from sad to happy, filled with laughs to filled with tears. I can't even begin to explain how much of an impact this book made on me. I highly recommend and cannot wait until it comes out soon so I can buy myself my own copy. Five out of five diva crowns!

Thank you so much for reading and hopefully I get back into the swing of things so I can review all summer! Hope the rest of your week is filled with *SPARKLES!*

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Oh! And if anyone wants a super mini playlist while reading this book I made one. It's not very long and almost completely filled with Coldplay songs but Leigh's playlist hadn't been released yet and I needed some music to get me in the mood:

A Rush Of Blood to the Head- Coldplay

Daylight- Coldplay

X&Y-Coldplay

Winter Song- Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

Twisted Logic- Coldplay

Low- Coldplay

Winter Prayer- Leigh Bardugo, herself!

Aberrant by Ruth Silver Cover Reveal!

Why, hello everyone! Long time no see? Yeah, I've been gone for quite a while. School is INSANE and I have a whole bunch of stuff going on with theater right now so I'm not having as much time as I would like to read what I want. BUT I do have a cover reveal for you all!

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So here it is... ABBERANT by Ruth Silver! 

DUM DUH DUH DUMMMMMM!

Looks mysterious doesn't it? Most definitely dystopian. I think it looks fantabulous! 

And here's the description:

"In the future dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system.  There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone.  The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government's match in marriage and "The Day of the Chosen", a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn't existed in generations.  Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she's arrested and thrown in prison.  The only crime committed, her existence.  Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from "The Day of the Chosen."  The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system.
With Joshua's help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run.  Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together.  Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven.  New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay.  Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands.  Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her.  Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive."

You can enter to win one of three signed copies of ABERRANT on Goodreads!

About the Ruth:

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005.  While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004.  Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories.  Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia.  Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing.  She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories.  Her latest novel published by Lazy Day Publishing, ABERRANT is scheduled for release April 13th.  Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager.  She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois. 

Find Ruth on Twitter: @writeawaybliss

Or on Facebook: writeawaybliss

If you want to check out more go to her website!

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Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll have a new review up sometime soon! Hope everyone's weekend is filled with *SPARKLES!*

Breaking Waves Review/ Blog Tour!

(Sequel to Heart Waves)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Number of pages: 204

For ages 13+

"From the moment they met, Jenna knew Reece would break her heart, but she never dreamed it would happen like this. Jenna is left shattered and broken. When life becomes too painful to deal with and she feels completely alone, there’s only one person to help her pick up the pieces and move on. The one person she doesn’t want to turn to. The one person she promised to stay away from. Tyler. Can Jenna put aside everything she knows about him and let Tyler help heal her broken heart?" -Goodreads

*I was given this book to give a completely honest review*

I am absolutely positively thrilled to be able to do this blog tour! I love Danielle and I love her books so I knew I had to sign up. 

I LOVED the first book in this series so I knew I was going to absolutely love the second one! There was a little part of me worried it would have the "Sequel Blues" but alas! IT did not! Jenna is still just as awesome as she was in the first book. She was hilarious as ever and the relationship between her and Reece was still absolutely adorable. But then it allll changes... But we'll get back to that heart wrenching event later!

I'm just gonna tell you right now REECE IS SO SWOONY. And I feel like I'm always super repetitive when it comes to the swoony guys, but odds are any book I review on this blog will have a swoony boy. I'm just sayin'. And Reece was definitely swoony. I just wish we could have had a little more time with him. But that's the whole point! ;) 

So now... OH MY GRAVY. THE TWISTS. THE TWISTS, PEOPLE. Goodness gracious. Let me just tell you I needed to have a little breather while reading this book because I was a mess. A sad teenage angst mess. I am not ashamed to say I cried. But HEY! I'm a teenage girl, I have the right. 

All I can say is: REEEEECEEE, NOOOOO! I can't tell you anything without giving away the BIGGEST TWIST EVAR away. So my capsaholic ways will have to do for now. Also: I don't trust Tyler. At all. I feel like he's got somethin' up his sleeve. And I just want to shake Jenna and say, "DON'T TRUST HIM." But it's inevitable. It's gonna happen. And it did. And I had to sit there and read it. Because it wasn't like I was gonna stop! That's craziness. I feel like Tyler has something planned. And I'm dying to read the next book to find out. 

The ending? Seriously?! I can't.. I can't. I'm pretty sure when I read that last page I flailed. It wasn't necessarily a cliff hanger but you might as well call it that because I'm DYING. DYYYIIINNNNG. I'm definitely counting down the SECONDS until I can read the next book because this is just cruel. For Cereal. 

So, I'm most definitely giving this book 5 out of 5 diva crowns. There were so many ups and downs and a very mysterious guy that I don't trust WHATSOEVER, and I loved every page of it. I recommend this series to contemporary romance lovers! If you haven't read the first book definitely read it! 

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Danielle Sibarium grew up as an only child of divorced parents in Brooklyn, New York. Her imagination was developed at an early age. Surrounded by stuffed animals and imaginary friends, she transported herself into a fantasy world full of magic and wonder. Books were the gateway between her play world and reality. On any given summer afternoon she became Snow White sweeping and cooking for the dwarfs, or Cinderella waiting for the prince.

Danielle always loved dialogue and in elementary school began writing plays and short stories. This is when she began to understand she could not only bring her fantastical world to life for herself, but she could enchant others as well. And so she wrote. She wrote and wrote and wrote.

Sadly the first piece she ever sent out for publication of any sort was a letter to the editor of The Home News Tribune. It was a piece thanking the first responders for their bravery and selflessness on Sept 11th. It was chosen as letter of the week.

In 2007 Danielle collaborated with Charlotte Doreen Small to write songs for her CD More. Danielle wrote the lyrics for Take My Hand, and Goodbye, while Charlotte contributed the melody.  In October 2011 Danielle’s debut novel For Always was released. She has since released Heart Waves and the second book in the Heart Waves series, Breaking Waves.  Danielle graduated from Farleigh Dickinson University with honors, and currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and three children

Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle

B&N Nook

Connect with Danielle Sibarium:

Website

Twitter

Goodreads Page

Heart Waves Facebook

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Thanks for reading! Hope your week is filled with *SPARKLES* 

New and Improved Blog!

As you can tell, my blog has changed! And I LOVE it. Jenn from the Cutest Blog on the Block team customized this for me! She was absolutely fantastic and very sweet! I'm super happy with it and I hope you guys like it too!

Callum and Harper by Fisher Amelie! (Video Review)

Doing something COMPLETELY different today! I made a video review! It's pretty long because I ramble and such but I hope you guys like it!

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Details:

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Number of Pages: 355

For ages 15+

"Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.

And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be.

Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other.

Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated." -Goodreads

4 Diva Crowns!

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Well, hopefully you guys don't think I'm TOTALLY insane after watching that! I thought it was pretty fun! Let me know!

Hope your week is filled with *sparkles!*