The Lost Saint Giveaway!

Hi! If you celebrate Christmas, then I hope you had a wonderful time and happy holidays and winter season for the rest. Happy New Year to everyone as well!

Today is the release of The Lost Saint which is the sequel by Bree Despain so I wanted to celebrate by starting off the new year with a contest! I received The Dark Divine for review and an ARC copy of The Lost Saint for giveaway (I'll be posting my review of it soon). A huge Thank You to the publisher who sent me a copy for this contest and a bottle of nail polish as well.

I can only ship within the United States (sorry international readers!).

This contest will end the 21st of January, 2011

There are extra entries included in the form. One winner will get both the ARC of The Lost Saint and a pretty bottle of blue nail polish made for the occasion!

Please fill out this FORM here style="color:#c0c0c0;" style="color:#99ff99;">. I can't figure out how to embed it for some reason >.

Review: The Dark Divine

Author: Bree Despain

Summary: (back cover) Grace Divine--daughter or the local pastor--always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood.

Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother. As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul.

Review: A wonderful book. Although readers may be wary of the religious angle the book seems to have, I think that without it, there would be no story.


Religion is a part of who the characters are and it explains a lot about the storyline later in the book. Grace Divine is a realistic character. She is strong and individualistic, but she is also dependent on certain aspects of her world. Her flaws are human and Grace learns to look inside herself for the answers she seeks.

The storyline moved quickly along making sure that the reader stays hooked by the tale. Daniel is an interesting well-rounded character and a part of Grace's family. Paranormal fans will enjoy it.


Rating: 1 2 3 4 4 5

The sequel The Lost Saint was released today! Look for a giveaway of the ARC and a bottle of blue nail polish in its honor.

Blog Tour: Out For Blood + Giveaway

Author: Alyxandra Harvey

Summary: (back cover) Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy where she excels at just about everything. Thanks to her friendship with Kieran Black, Hunter receives a special invitation to attend the coronation of Helena Drake, and for the first time, begin to see the differences between vampires that must be hunted and vampires that can become friends--or even more. When students at the academy fall victim to a mysterious illness, Hunter suspects they are under attack from within. She will need someone she can trust to help her save the future of Helios-Ra...help that shockingly comes in the form of Quinn Drake, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Who said senior year would be easy?

Review: This is definitely my favorite out off the series so far. The chemistry between the two main characters seemed more natural and the way the romance developed had the characters acting realistically with each other. As realistic as it can get when a vampire hunter and a vampire are placed together.

Definitely full of action and fights that left me feeling breathless. This book has the most likable characters I think. Even though Quinn is a player, he doesn't keel at the sight of Hunter, instead he slowly lets go of himself and this progress is what makes the story natural.

Hunter is a very strong female lead, but she isn't paranoid like Isabeau was in the second book. Her age is apparent because she acts like herself and she also manages to be quirky and witty without being obnoxious. Hunter is a very well-rounded character who holds herself in first place and takes other's opinions seriously, but not too seriously.

Overall, if you enjoy vampires, romance, or short action filled tales, then the Drake Series is definitely for you! :) Enjoy!

Rating: 1 2 3 4 4.5 5

Alyxandra Harvey is coming out with a different story! Here is the link to read an excerpt of Haunting Violet! Definitely sounds exciting.

Check it out here: http://issuu.com/bloomsbury/docs/haunting_violet

Giveaway Rules: (Out For Blood book and bookmark)

Only US addresses and no PO Boxes

Please fill out the form to enter :)

Extra Entries:

+2 - follower

+1 - posting contest on your sidebar or networking site like twitter or facebook

+3 - Actual Blog Post or Contest round-up sort of thing (please leave the link)

Contest ends January 9th, 2o11 that's next year!!!!

Become a fan! http://www.facebook.com/thedrakechronicles

Review: Hearts At Stake

The Drake Chronicles Book One

Author: Alyxandra Harvey

Summary: (back cover) Solange Drake always knew she was destined to become a vampire queen. And as the only female vampire ever born, not made, she is surrounded by danger on all sides--from vampire suitors who want to join with her lineage to bounty hunters who are set on destroying her and her family When she is kidnapped, it's up to her oler brother Nicholas and her human best friend, Lucy, to save her. But can Lucy save herself from Nicholas, who tempts her with his every look? And what will be Solange's own fate if she surrenders her heart to the vampire hunter helping her survive the deadly intrigue at the royal court?

Let the Drake family be your guide into a secret vampire society full of epic battles, gothic seduction, undead drama, and wicked humor.

Review: It started out a bit slow as introductions were made and background explained, but I was surprised at how good the story got really quickly. Although it was relatively short, there was plenty of action.

The fighting scenes were cool and Lucy's quirky personality made this vampire book unique and satisfying. Although vampires are a bit overdone, I know that a good story can make me fall back in love with them and this book created a new platform to set the story on.

The ending was packed with stuff and I felt that it could have actually been dragged out a little more because it left me a little shell-shocked while the middle could have been condensed a bit and only the main characters were well developed. This is perfectly okay and even preferable because it is a series and the rest of the books delve into the other characters making them feel fresh and excitingly different.

At first, I was very skeptical about how I would handle alternating points of view because I've read quite a few books where instead of enhancing the story, changing characters actually detract. It felt like that at first with Hearts At Stake, but quickly evened out and started to feel like a natural part of the book.

Overall, it was a pleasant read and Lucy's over-the-top character balanced by Solange's solitary one created a cute story. Hope you enjoy!

Rating: 1 2 3 3.5 4 5

Update

Sorry for being missing around here for a while. I should be back up and reviewing now that my college applications are mostly done, at least until I decide to start on scholarships, ugh. Although my reviews have been sparse, I've read quite a few books which you can expect a review of sometime soon such as Liar, Wintergirls, Morpheus Road, GhostGirl Lovesick, The Dark Divine and a couple others.

I'm going to be participating in a blog tour for Out For Blood, a Drake Chronicles series book by Alyxandra Harvey and there will be a giveaway with bookmarks thanks to the publisher! I'm excited and it will be up next Saturday!

I'm also going to put up a giveaway for maybe the Dark Divine and the Lost Saint nail polish or something so watch for that pretty please!

Thanks for reading and know that this space has been a stress-reliever due to the blogger community. :)