2010 April

Calling All Twilight Fans!!!

April 30, 2010 By Lori 6 Comments

Yeah, it’s that time again!! June 1st marks the kickoff of Twilight Takeover here on Pure Imagination. This time around we are not only celebrating a movie release but a book release too!! I don’t know about you but I am super super super excited.
If you weren’t a follower last year during Twilight Month let me tell you a little about it. The whole month is Twilight themed. That’s it! I have not one but two big Twilight giveaways planed(and maybe more!). And some awesome posts in the works. But I still need your help! Yes you! Are you a huge Twilight fan? Or maybe just a small Twilight fan? I need you! I want lots of guest posts and just about anything you can throw my way. What’s your Twilight story? How did you discover it? How many times have you read the books? Have you met the stars? Have you met Stephenie Meyer?(If you have I’m so jealous)Do you have a Twilight Mom? Boyfriend? Husband? Dog? I want to know it all! So please if you are interested in doing a guest post or helping out in any way please email me at pureimagination77(at)gmail.com
If anyone wants to make a button I would love to have a bunch of different ones from different people!! Also if anyone has anything Twilight related they would like to donate for a giveaway that would be amazing!!

Everyone that helps me out with posts and such will get 5 extra points in the Twilight Takeover giveaway!

Don’t want to do a whole post? Fill out the Twilight Takeover questionnaire!! I will randomly select one person who fills out the questionnaire to win a $5 Amazon gift card!! You don’t even have to fill out the whole thing! Here is the questionnaire!

If you want to do a guest post but can’t think of a topic, here are some to choose from:

Why I’m Team Jasper/Emmett
The One Thing I would Change in the Twilight Series
How I Made Everyone Read Twilight(You know you did!)
My Twilight Cast
Things I would Say to Stephanie Meyer (or anyone from the cast)
If Twilight Ruled The World
My Twilight Mom
Confessions of a Twilight Mom

I’m really horrible at thinking up these things so if you have you own then by all means, email me!! pureimagination77(at)gmail.com

Filed Under: Twilight Takeover

Review: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

April 29, 2010 By Lori 9 Comments

Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: June 7, 2010
Other Books By This Author: As You Wish
Received From: Around the World Tours
IBSN: 9780316068680
Blurb:
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris– the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She’s determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax– but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they’ve worked for.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.

My Thoughts:

I thought this was a retelling of Little Red Riding Rood but I was completely wrong and I’m not disappointed about that at all. Jackson Pearce takes a beloved fairy tale and makes it her own. It was dark. It was action packed and it was fun.

I had heard some wonderful things about Pearce’s writing. Now I know those things to be true. I was captivated from the first page and I never once lost interest. The characters were strong and compelling. The story, like I said before was action packed. There was even a little romance thrown in. I couldn’t have asked for a better kinda sorta fairy tale read!

Scarlett and Rosie are very capable. They don’t sit back while the wolves kill innocent girls. No, they take the fight to them. And what a fight it is. I sometimes find myself getting bored in fight scenes but Jackson writes them expertly. I was never bored.
The chapters alternate between Rosie and Scarlett so that we really get a look inside their heads. They are two very different girls. Who, in the end may not even want the same things in life. We watch this struggle unfold throughout the book.

The wolves in this book aren’t the handsome guys who unfortunately turn furry every once in awhile. Nope, they are evil soulless creatures. Smelly too. I’m so happy to read a book where the supernatural beings weren’t played in a good light for a change!

Overall, this is a very original story that you won’t be able to put down. Read it!

4.5 Stars

Filed Under: Jackson Pearce, Young Adult

Waiting on Wednesday(42)

April 28, 2010 By Lori 10 Comments

October 28, 2010 Carolrhoda Lab

There are things the people of Winter, Wisconsin, would rather forget. The year the Nazis came to town, for one. That fire, for another. But what they’d really like to forget is Christian Cage.

Seventeen-year-old Christian’s parents disappeared when he was a little boy. Ever since, he’s drawn obsessively: his mother’s face…her eyes…and what he calls “the sideways place,” where he says his parents are trapped. Christian figures if he can just see through his mother’s eyes, maybe he can get there somehow and save them.

But Christian also draws other things. Ugly things. Evil things. Dark things. Things like other people’s fears and nightmares. Their pasts. Their destiny.

And some things the people of Winter would rather forget—like murder.
But Winter won’t be able to forget the truth, no matter how hard it tries. Not as long as Christian draws the dark…

Filed Under: Waiting on Wednesday

New Book Blogger Tips (2)

April 27, 2010 By Lori 5 Comments

I don’t claim to be an expert by any means! But I have been doing this very seriously since last Summer and in the beginning posts like these are what got me through! If it wasn’t for The Story Siren’s tips and Presenting Lenore’s very informative posts I would have been completely lost. I have been getting a few questions lately and some bloggers asking if I had any tips, so I thought I would do a series of posts! I want to talk about some of the things that have worked for me and some of the things that haven’t. Last time we talked about your blog design, this time we are going to talk about getting followers.

There are lots of things you can do to increase your followers but the bottom line is you have to have good content. That means well written reviews. Fun posts. Informative posts. Not just meme’s everyday. When I started taking book blogging seriously the very first thing I did was work on my reviews. I don’t claim to be an excellent review writer(ha!)but I think that my voice comes through in my reviews. That’s important. Don’t tell people what they want to hear! Be honest! Be creative! Make up your own meme’s or have themed weeks! There are plenty of ways to make your blog fun!

After you have your content figured out then you have to get your blog out there right? One of the easiest ways is to read and comment on other blogs. Don’t spam other blogs! But commenting gets your name out there!

Another great great way is Twitter! Who would have thought right? Join Twitter if you haven’t already. The book blogger network on there is huge! You can get the word out about your posts and contests. Facebook is also great for this and there are a couple of Book communities you can join: Shelfari, Goodreads, Library Thing, and Amazon. But remember DON’T SPAM! People will not follow you blog if you annoy them

The fastest way in my opinion to get your blog out there and to get followers is to hold a contest. Giveaway books people want and spread the word! Tweet! Did you buy a new hardback book and then end up not liking it? Giveaway!!! That’s how I did it! But remember content is key. You will get followers with contests but you will keep them with good content!
**Update: Lenore brought up a great point in her comment. Don’t just have giveaways!! You must have other content in order for people to want to read you blog! And don’t force people to be a follower to enter a contest. No one likes that! Most bloggers will become a follower without being forced!

That’s all for this edition of New Book Blogger Tips! I hope it may have helped someone Stay tuned because next time we will talk about the thing that’s on everyone’s mind…..ARCs!!

Filed Under: New Book Blogger Tips

Review: Heist Society by Ally Carter

April 26, 2010 By Lori 8 Comments

Age Group: Young Adult
Received From: Kindle Store
Other Books by This Author: Gallagher Girls, Cheating at Solitaire, Learning to Play Gin
IBSN: 9781423116394
Blurb:
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own–scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in history-or at least her family’s (very crooked) history.

My Thoughts:

I started this book because I wanted something fun to read. That’s exactly what I got. Kat comes from a family of thieves. She has grown up pulling off amazing heists but when she turns 15, she wants out. She cons her way into the elite Colgan School. She was done with her families ways. That is, until her father gets in a little trouble and she has to plan the biggest heist of her life.

This book was Ocean’s 11 YA style! I loved it! It made me want to be a glamorous international thief. Which might not be a good thing….But anyway I really liked this book! It took me a little while to get into the story but after I did it was hard to put down. I loved hearing about all the different heist and con techniques. The writing was superb. Ally Carter must have done a ton of research to make all these things seem so real.

Kat was a great main character. She was reluctant to get back into her thieving ways but she didn’t really have a choice. She was strong and smart and she made the story come to life. Hale was…swoon. There was very little romance in the book but it was always there. A underlying current in the story. I really liked Hale and what he brought to the story. All of the secondary characters were a lot of fun! They made a perfect team.

This book reads like a movie, so I was happy to see that Warner Brothers have optioned the rights. Here’s hoping they make a movie!!
If you are looking for a fun read. Read this book. It’s smart and thrilling! I can’t wait for a book 2!

4 Stars!

Filed Under: Ally Carter, Young Adult

In My Mailbox!!

April 25, 2010 By Lori 11 Comments

In My Mailbox was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie and created by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Review:

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs (Traveling ARC Tours)

Hearts At Stake by Alyxandra Harvey (Around the World Tours)

A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

Bought:

None!

Can you believe it!?

I’m proud of myself!

That’s all for me! What did you get in your mailbox?

Filed Under: In my Mailbox

Review: Everlasting by Angie Frazier

April 24, 2010 By Lori 6 Comments

Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: June 1,2010
Received From: Around the World Tours
Other Info: 2010 Debut Author Challenge
IBSN: 054511473
Blurb:
Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty.

On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous—and alluring—magic.

The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who—and what—matters most.

Beautifully written and feverishly paced, Everlasting is an unforgettable journey of passion, secrecy, and adventure.

My Thoughts:

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book! The cover is beautiful and the story sounds incredible. I used to read a lot of historical fiction but I haven’t read a lot of historical YA. While this book has some fantasy elements it takes place in 1855.

I didn’t love the book but I did like it. I think it was a great change of pace for me.
Camille, the main character was headstrong and capable. She was a little dramatic but that might be the product of the times. I really enjoyed all the characters. Oscar was swoon worthy and interesting.

The mystery drives the story and keeps you reading until the very last page. Although, I did feel that the pace was a little slow at times. Angie has a wonderful debut on her hands. The writing was fantastic and fun! I would recommend!

3.5 Stars