September 29, 2011

Recreate A Cover Contest entry

Over at Princess Bookie she holds an awesome contest where you remake a cover. I like doing these every once in a while. For this one you get to choose any 2011 or 2012 release. I chose Katana by Cole Gibsen (because who doesn't want to scour the internet for pictures of ninjas :) Without any further rambling I give you my entry.

The original:

My Remake:


I hope you will vote for mine but you don't have to! :) ( go here to vote for me!!!)

just sayin, 
-Kare

September 28, 2011

The Shattering by Karen Healey





Description:
Seventeen-year-old Keri likes to plan for every possibility. She knows what to do if you break an arm, or get caught in an earthquake or fire. But she wasn't prepared for her brother's suicide, and his death has left her shattered with grief. When her childhood friend Janna tells her it was murder, not suicide, Keri wants to believe her. After all, Janna's brother died under similar circumstances years ago, and Janna insists a visiting tourist, Sione, who also lost a brother to apparent suicide that year, has helped her find some answers.

As the three dig deeper, disturbing facts begin to pile up: one boy killed every year; all older brothers; all had spent New Year's Eve in the idyllic town of Summerton. But when their search for the serial killer takes an unexpected turn, suspicion is cast on those they trust the most.

As secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or will they become victims themselves?



Epic Wins:
  • The book was written in several point-of-views giving the book a more complete picture. You get to read as each character grows and overcomes challenges. 
  • Keri- She always has a plan , when the world is ending you'll want this girl as your guide. She's brave, independent, and athletic.  
  • Janna- The words funky rock star come to mind. She has such passion for music and I loved her relationship with Takeshi. 
  • Sione- He is quiet, smart, and sweet. He has some major insecurities he has to work through but once he does he is brave and loyal.
  • You never quite know who the murderer is and it quite shocked me when everything unraveled. 
  • The setting- I like it when books are set in other countries and continents. It's fun to read about the different cultures and lingo. New Zeland was no exception.  
  • Many, many twists and unexpected turns lie within these pages. Beware.
  • A unique breed of magic is brought forward, one I've never read of before. It felt very real and you could almost see it actually working. 
Epic Fails:
  • I thought the ending was sad in a it-sucks-but-life-goes-on sort of way. 
Overall:
Murder, magic, suspense, and clever characters compel you, the reader, to then end of this tragic and thrilling read.


just sayin, 
-Kare

September 22, 2011

Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern





Description:
On the first day of Lillian’s summer-before-college, she gets a message on her cell from her sort-of friend, Penny. Not only has Penny faked her own kidnapping, but Lil is the only one who figures it out. She knows that Penny’s home life has been rough, and that her boyfriend may be abusive. Soon, Penny’s family, the local police, and even the FBI are grilling Lil, and she decides to head out to Oregon, where Penny has mentioned an acquaintance. And who better to road-trip across the country with than Lil’s BFF, Josh. But here’s the thing: Lil loves Josh. And Josh doesn’t want to “ruin” their amazing friendship.


Josh has a car and his dad’s credit card. Lil has her cellphone and a hunch about where Penny is hiding. There’s something else she needs to find: Are she and Josh meant to be together?


Epic Wins:
  • This book was my kind of funny. It wasn't just the jokes, it was the weird things they said like, "I feel like a turd ball from outer space." If you have read my reviews things like that sneak in all the time. 
  • ROAD TRIP!! I love road trips, and not for the destination but being on the open road, eating snacks, sleeping in awkward positions, and listening to music. So it was fun to read yet another amazing road trip book.
  • The souvenir t-shirts- They decide to take this road trip on a whim. So all they have is what they have on their backs. Naturally they have to buy clothes, so the next rational step is to buy a butt-load of corny (or cheesy :) souvenir t-shirts. 
  • Lilian- She is a totally original voice and a good joke cracker. 
  • I didn't even see it coming but the point of view changes to Penny sometimes. It gave the story some extra pizzazz.
  • Josh- If he could grow up a little the boy would be perfect! 
  • Josh and Lil have that best friend connection. The way they joke and kid around with each other is fun to watch and slightly endearing. 
  • Penny- You could consider her insane but I happen to think she was witty and clever. She got herself out of a bad situation, most girls in her spot can't do that. 
Epic Fails:
  • The fact that it ended :(
Overall:
A riot+a road trips + corny and cheesy things+Lilian+Josh+ Penny = a whirl wind adventure you won't want to miss! Oh I loveth it so!!


just sayin, 
-Kare

September 19, 2011

Daily Dose 36



Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly 

Dinosaur Edition








What inspires you?

just sayin,
-Kare

September 14, 2011

The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner





Description:


While Nick Gardner’s family is falling apart, his best friend, Scooter, is dying from a freak disease. The Scoot’s final wish is that Nick and their quirky classmate, Jaycee Amato, deliver a prized first-edition copy of Of Mice and Men to the Scoot’s father. There’s just one problem: the Scoot’s father walked out years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. So, guided by Steinbeck’s life lessons, and with only the vaguest of plans, Nick and Jaycee set off to find him.

Characters you’ll want to become friends with and a narrative voice that sparkles with wit make this a truly original coming-of-age story.



Epic Wins:

  • The adventure- It's crazy from the start and they both know it, but what adventure doesn't include crazy? They know that there quest could turn up nothing but somehow they know they still have to try. 
  • The idea of the pull of gravity, the fall. The hair-brained idea that peoples plans will always fall apart but only to fall into place.
  • Jaycee- I loved her obsession with Of Mice and Men, makes me want to read it! She was determine and had her own style.
  • Nick- He was hilarious! I loved seeing his world and life. You got to see him change from kid to teenager.
  • I don't know about you guys but Star Wars has always been a part of my life, always. My dad and brothers love it and yes I have seen all the movies. So when I read this book I thought it was cool that it was incorporated into the story. 
  • Nick is quiet and Jaycee is loud, it was fun to see their relationship and how it worked.
  • The Scoot- He was like a modern-day Yoda in wisdom and size.
  • There are quite a few twists that throw you off guard in various ways.
  • Another amazing road trip style book!! They traveled by bus which was different and made sense because they were too young to drive but the road trip spirit was still there. 



Epic Fails:

  • His dad. Now I can understand why he did what he did but that doesn't mean I have to like it!



Overall:
This book pulls you to it's core and invests you in it.. A nice honest contemporary. 


just sayin, 
-Kare

September 12, 2011

Daily Dose 35



Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly 

Snowman Edition








What inspires you?

just sayin,
-Kare

September 10, 2011

In My Mail Box (32)



[Lets give props to Kristi (The Story Siren) for her amazing meme that allows us to drool over what books people got in their mailbox. If you want go get in on the IMM Magic check out Kristi's blog ]


Oy! This is from the like the last two months...


For Review:

Anna Dressed in Blood
The Last Seal
Sophie  Carter
Deadly Cool
Bloodspell
Shut Out
Everybody Sees the Ants
Dead Rules
Pretty Bad Things


  • Anna Dressed in Blood
  • The Last Seal
  • Sophie & Cater
  • Deadly cool
  • Bloodspell
  • Shut Out
  • Everybody Sees the Ants
  • Dead Rules
  • Pretty Bad Things 
  • Reckless (not pictured)
Won:

Death Sentence
The Fox Inheritance
Shut Out
Beauty Queens
Hades
}







  • Death Sentence
  • The Fox Inheritance
  • Shut Out (signed)
  • Beauty Queens
  • Hades
Gifts:

Don Quixote
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ten Things We Did
The Shattering
Wintertown
}







  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
  • Ten Things We Did(and probably shouldn't have)
  • Don Quixote 
  • The Shattering
  • Winter Town
Special Thanks to:
My Second Mom
My Aunt
Little Brown
April Xu 
MacTeen Books
And many, many more people...


What did you get in your mailbox?

just sayin,
-Kare

Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy





Description:


When 15-year-old Enid Calhoun follows her boyfriend Wick to Maryland for a party, fearful that he might be intending to cheat on her, she finds herself sneaking on board a houseboat where Wick and his friends plan to have a wild night. But before the boys discover their stowaway, a hurricane strikes, and the teenagers are carried miles from the shore and shipwrecked. What follows is a harrowing, yet heartwarming, story of survival, as the teens battle hypothermia, dehydration, man-eating sharks--and along the way, confront their own deepest secrets, including their catalytic roles in the disaster.


My Thoughts


Characters
The characters were fine. I liked the idea of all the twins in one group of friends. 
Plot
The plot was AMAZING!! I loved all the twists and turns it gave out when you least expected them. 
Voice-
The voice of the characters was not the best, it could have been more out there but overall it was good. 
Intensity
This book was very intense, I was hooked by the title. 
Humor
There was a lot of Irony in this book. Enid was very hilarious.
Average
The five ratings above say or explain that this book was absolutely an epic story.


My ratings:



Characters: 4/5
Plot: 5/5
Voice: 4/5
Intensity: 4/5
Humor: 4/5
Average:  4.2/5 or 21/25


My Overall:


This book was an Epic Book.




September 08, 2011

Ladybird, Ladybird Trailer and Contest

As part of their Book Trailer and E-Book Release, Crimson Oak Publishing  will be giving away five $50 American Express gift cards. To sign up for the giveaway click here.


About the book:







Samantha was born on a full moon to a mother already dead. Revived by doctors and given to her unloving father, Samantha was raised a cursed child, her only friend the ghost of her mother who speaks to her through keys that open a secret box Sam hides under her bed.

From the inside out, Sam burns with life, a fire so vivid it keeps her peers at a distance, all except one. Leith, a quiet farm boy with a broken heart and demons of his own, enjoys the seclusion his classmates grant him, but the seclusion is all too familiar to Sam, drawing her interest.

For the first time in their lives, fate pushes them together, but when their worlds collide…fires burn.




just sayin, 
-Kare 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake





Description:


Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Epic Wins:
  • Anna- Can I just say this? COOLEST.GHOST.EVER. She is complex and had to deal with some MAJOR issues. I think what I liked best about Anna was she was tough and could hold her own.   
  • Cas- His personality, what loomed in his past , and his um er past time(?) pulled me in. I loved the layers Blake created with him. 
  • Blake has some kind of magic when it comes to creating clear characters. All the characters had distinct personalities and pasts.  
  • This book was horror in it's prettiest dress.A dress mind you that dripped blood. Also included is a haunting basement filled to the brim with death.  Horror? Check! Check! Check!
  • Thomas- The Nerdy sidekick who may or may not know what you are thinking. He was slightly awkward but in an adorable way. I am fairly sure he was my favorite character. 
  • The writing is part brilliant and part beautiful. Every description, every word, every line it all came together to make a crazy brain-hacking effect. 
  • The Messege(s)- You don't HAVE to fight alone, Sometimes what your are looking for is right in front of you, and Yes door's close but sometime those same doors open back up.
  • The creepy factor- I love when books make you FEEL. This book has an intense way of making you feel like you are going to find a ghost hiding in your closet. 
  • This book had me up late into the night and up at the earliest hours. I still think about its powerful story , so much in fact that it has hurtled me into a book coma. 


Epic Fails:
  • All I will say on the matter is that I hope there is a second book because that ending was WAY intense. 


Overall:
Horror + Murder + Love + Magic + Ghost busters (er I mean hunters) = A book you can't avoid being sucked into. You might as well do yourself a favor and read it now. 

just sayin,
-Kare

September 05, 2011

Daily Dose 34



Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly 

Old Movie Stars Edition

Lately I have been obsessed with older movies. These are just SOME of my favorite actresses from my favorite movies.








What inspires you?

just sayin,
-Kare