CONTEST: Tempest Rising ARC by Tracy Deebs

Don't forget to enter my contest for US addresses ending on the 9th of June 2011! Thanks you guys for your support! :)

Link: http://mixturesbooks.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-tour-tempest-rising-giveaway.html

I'll use this to update you on the fact that I just finished reading "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King and will be posting a review for that soon as well as the adult contemporary novel "Bridge of Sighs" by Richard Russo, so do look out for that. Both I highly recommend.

And check out my contest for bookmarks of Sean Griswold's Head which you can find the link to up in my little "My Contests" section.

Have a great day!

Giveaway: Bookmarks for Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

Lindsey Leavitt was giving away bookmarks for her book, SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD, that was released March 1st of this year. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do as I really liked it. I reviewed it as part of the blog tour and interviewed Lindsey here. Well I received a few bookmarks for that book and wanted to share some with you!

RULES

There will be 3 winners.

One winner will receive a signed bookmark.

Two winners will receive an unsigned bookmark.

Fill out the form below to enter.

US Addresses only please! And good luck!

Contest Ends June 9th, 2011

Tiger's Quest

Author: Colleen Houck

Release Date: June 2011

From: Publisher

Summary: (back cover) Heartbroken and desperate to push aside her feelings for Ren, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life in Oregon--but the blood-thirsty sorcerer Lokesh is hot on her heels and will stop at nothing to possess her newfound powers. Kelsey's only refuge is to embark on a second Indian quest, this time with Ren's dark, bad-boy brother, Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger's curse.

Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, TIGER'S QUEST, the second volume in the TIGER'S CURSE series, brings the trio one step closer to breaking the centuries-old spell that binds them.

Review: I am so in love with this series and can't get enough of the magic! The plot is very action-oriented while the setting is gorgeous in its descriptions. There is a bunch of cultural facts to learn as well that are woven into the story.

The reader learns along with Kelsey as she prepares herself to go on another journey for another piece of the puzzle. Her character is realistic and down to earth which did become a bit of a problem, but she matured and learned to live life in a more positive manner instead of inside her own little bubble. She is a willful individual and at times childish in her actions, but she always balanced out her flaws with the good points of her personality. Kelsey's well-rounded character is easy to relate to.

Although there was a bit of down time in the beginning, it wasn't as bad as I expected it was going to be *cough cough* New Moon *cough*, so I was really happy that Kelsey resumed some sort of normalcy in her Oregonian lifestyle. The plot is always moving forward while the adventure part resumed quickly.

The magical aspects of the book were great. Although it is centered on the tiger curse, there are other supernatural creatures woven into the story like fairies! During the actual quest, there is suspense as both Kelsey and Kishan have to fight off some dangerous foes and sometimes it got confusing as to what or where they were fighting. Overall, this is an exciting series and I CANNOT wait to get the next installment.

The ending was completely bittersweet and I don't know for how long I can bear waiting to find out what happens before I lose my sanity completely. The covers are beautiful too! I wanted to mention that even my ARC is extremely lovely and I wonder what they plan on doing for the next book's cover since both tigers have been used so far. Anyway, if you choose to read the series, I truly wish that you come to love it as much as I have.

Rating: 1 2 3 4 4.5 5

Blog Tour: Tempest Rising + Giveaway

Hey! I'm super excited to bring you another review and contest. Today is actually the release date of Tempest Rising if you want to go get a copy soon, so I'm glad to be here celebrating. Congratulations to Tracy Deebs for her release!

Author: Tracy Deebs

From: Publisher

Release: May 10th, 2011 TODAY

Summary: (from

goodreads) Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

Review: Whoa! I will admit that this became my first mermaid book even though there have been many released recently. I didn't really know what to expect, but because a book on mermaids sounded awesome, I decided I really wanted to try it.

I was completely immersed in the ocean and its beauty through the entire story! It was such a constant presence for obvious reasons, but it felt so real, like a was feet from it instead of miles and the way it was described was wonderful. The settings in general were really vivid, and made me wish all the more for sun, sun, sun!

The colors were very vibrantly described such as the tattoos on the the main character and also her mother's brilliant green. The imagery used in portraying the different sea creatures and then the action was clear and focused, bringing fantasy to life.

Although the characters were a bit flat (most were hardcore surfers) for my taste, I loved the story overall and what has stayed the most with me is the underwater world Deebs successfully created. Never has a fight scene been so easy to imagine either since I knew where each of the characters was and who was moving where. I'm glad that the main character managed to grow as a person because she was grating in the beginning, but the ending was satisfying in that she saw the way things had appeared through her mother's eyes. Overall, it was very enjoyable.

Rating: 1 2 3 3.5 4 5

Giveaway Rules:

-Only US addresses (sorry!). And no PO Boxes please.

-You must fill out the form below to enter :)

-Contest ends June 9th (YES I will be an official high school graduate by this point!).

Good luck and thanks for reading!