Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Published: October 1, 2006
Publisher: HarperTeen


Summary: Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic, sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back? A strong launch for a suspenseful series.


My Review: I enjoyed reading Pretty Little Liars. For me, because I live a drama free life (for the most part), reading about other peoples drama can be somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine!
The characters in this book are these rich, young and beautiful girls who really shouldn't have much to worry about about at their age. But with money comes power and lies and secrets. And all of the girls in this novel have their share of those.
We meet the group of 5 girls; Hanna, Spencer, Aria, Emily and Alison and we get a glimpse into their (twisted) friendship where one of these "life-long" friends calls all of the shots. Right away, I'm reminded of the new 90210 TV series. The whole who's dating who, who's wearing what, and just the look into the lives of these young, rich people and their parents are similar to each other. 
I had no idea that Pretty Little Liars would draw me in the way it did. I was always eager to read and find out a little more and I needed to know what would happen next. I loved that Shepard used short chapters, these are my favourite because I can then sneak in some reading wherever (the line up at Tim Hortons, waiting at the bus stop, you name it!) I like stopping at the end of a short chapter as opposed to in the middle of a long chapter. 
Overall, I cannot wait to read the next books in the PLL series, Spencer and Aria are my favourite girls of the group and I want to dive back into their lives, and see what "A" has in store for them and the others!

A Huge Thank You!

I woke up this morning to see that I have 60 followers! So I thought I would take the time to say

THANK YOU!

This wouldn't be as much fun without all of you guys. I'd love to do a giveaway for my followers (YOU!) so maybe when I get to 100 followers I'll have a contest! Stay tuned, and once again, Thanks for sticking around here with me, it's been fun!

In My Mailbox (January 30, 2011)

In My Mailbox credit goes to The Story Siren

Another great week for me here at Stellar Book Blog!

Bought:

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Mar

Pink Bra and Black Jacket by Rafaele Germain

Once again, thanks to my public library for their book sale, I got those 3 books for $0.75!

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

For Review:

Red Glove by Holly Black | Goodreads Synopsis

The Raven's Gift by Don Rearden | Goodreads Synopsis

I haven't read White Cat by Holly Black, so I'll have to get myself a copy of it before reading Red Glove (Which I'm really looking forward to reading!)

Thanks again to Simon & Schuster and Penguin for the ARCs to review!

What's in your mailbox this week?

Words By Ginny L. Yttrup

Published: February 2011
Publisher: B&H Books

Summary: "I collect words. I keep them in a box in my mind. I'd like to keep them in a real box, something pretty, maybe a shoe box covered with flowered wrapping paper. Whenever I wanted, I'd open the box and pick up the papers, reading and feeling the words all at once. Then I could hide the box. But the words are safer in my mind. There, he can't take them."
 
Ten-year old Kaylee Wren doesn't speak. Not since her drug-addled mother walked away, leaving her in a remote cabin nestled in the towering redwoods-in the care of a man who is as dangerous as he is evil. With silence her only refuge, Kaylee collects words she might never speak from the only memento her mother left behind: a dictionary.
Sierra Dawn is thirty-four, an artist, and alone. She has allowed the shame of her past to silence her present hopes and chooses to bury her pain by trying to control her circumstances. But on the twelfth anniversary of her daughter's death, Sierra's control begins to crumble as the God of her childhood woos her back to Himself.
Brought together by Divine design, Kaylee and Sierra will discover together the healing mercy of the Word-Jesus Christ.

My Review: When I started this book, I knew that it is considered Christan fiction / contemporary, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The first thing I thought of was, oh I hope this book isn't anything like The Shack. I've read that book, and did not enjoy it whatsoever, so I was really hoping that this would be different. And let me tell you that Words is NOTHING like The Shack. Yes, Words is about about finding God and understanding how He works and finding the truth and therefore freedom through Jesus, but it was done differently.
Words is about Kaylee, a 10 year old whose mother left her in the hands of a dangerous man. Kaylee doesnt speak, she just collects words. Also, Sierra, a 34 year old who is grieving the death of her daughter 12 years ago. The two complete strangers who have lived very different lives are brought together on the anniversary of a death, and together they will learn some of their life long secrets.
Honestly, I could not put this book down, though at times I wanted to because my emotoions were all over the place. Reading the story and seeing the pain and hurt Kaylee has been through, though never really graphic was difficult.
Everything about Words, the story and the characters is believable and honest and because of that you will feel so much toward the characters. You will feel sorry for Kaylee and you'll want to save her from the nightmare that is her life. You will feel strong for Sierra and will her to do the right things and choose the right path.
Yttrup is writing at it's best, she is phenomenal, and this heart-wrenching book will pull at all of your emotions.

In My Mailbox (January 23, 2011)

In My Mailbox credit goes to The Story Siren



I thought this week was going to a no book kind of week, until Friday when I checked the mail. I was curious when I saw that little brown envelope - then estatic when my daughter opened it (yes, she loves getting packages even more than me I think!)

For Review:

Wither by Lauren DeStefano | Goodreads Synopsis

That's all! Just one book this week, but it is such a good book to get! I cannot wait to read and review this one!

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for sending this ARC to review.

What came in your mailbox this week? Leave me a link, and I'll check it out!

Torment by Lauren Kate

Published: September 28, 2010
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Summary: Hell on earth. That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students -Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

My Review: This is the second installment of Fallen, and it too has a gorgeous cover. I think that Fallen and Torment have some of the most appealing covers I've seen in a while. They are so eerie, yet simple with the black and white and grey detials. Once again, the dress the girl is wearing is killer. Seriously, even if you don't like these books, they are worth having on your book shelf just to look at.
I read Fallen, and I did enjoy reading it (review here), so it was a given that I would read Torment. At first, I wasn't completely sold that this would be up to par with the first, but then, a little ways in, things got good. And then near the end, I didn't want to put the book down.
Luce went off to Shoreline, a school with unusually gifted children. Here we meet her roommate Shelby, and right away I liked her! Sure, she has attitude, and a huge chip on her shoulder, but we get to really meet her, and she's a great person, and a great friend. Miles is another character that pops into Luces' life and I couldn't help but like him too. He seems genuine and sincere and like the right friend for Luce. We didn't get to see Daniel as much as I would have liked (for obvious reasons) but when we did see him, Lauren Kate left mystery hanging in the air and had me wanting more!
Lauren Kate describes things in Torment with great detail. As I was reading, I was able to picture Shorline and it's gorgeous surroundings, and it was beautiful!
Torment is a good read, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the third book, Passion.

In My Mailbox (January 16, 2011)

 

In My Mailbox credit goes to The Story Siren

Bought:
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard - These books are next for Bookbites, the book club I'm in.

Borrowed:

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler - This is on my Contemps Challenge list

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summer - This is also on the Challenge list, can't wait to read both of these!

Won:
Three cool bookmarks from Misha @ My Love Affair With Books - I think the best thing about getting these bookmarks was that they came from India. I was surprised when I got the envelope with the postage stamps showing "India" so Thank you Misha! I was very excited!

That's it! What landed in your mailbox this week?

The "Launch" of the Good Ship Godspeed - Across The Universe (secret) Project

Thanks to Jeremy @ http://www.novelthoughtsblog.com/

for this gorgeous header!

Today is the release date of Beth Revis' Across The Universe!

A love out of time.
A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awake on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into a brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone—one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship—tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn’t do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed’s hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there’s only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

---



I was lucky enough to participate in this top secret project from Penguin Teen, and it's top secret because I have an exclusive (just released today) video of an interview with the author Beth Revis. In this video, she talks about the different parts of Godspeed - it's really interesting!

If that doesn't get you interested in reading Across The Universe then maybe you'll be interested in watching the book trailer. - I love how you get the feeling of being on Godspeed and flying through the gorgeous universe. -



I know I am very excited to read this book, I wasn't fortunate enough to get an ARC, but I know those who have, loved it! So until you can get your hands on Across The Universe by Beth Revis, check out these great websites - including a look into Godspeed! The ATU Book website is really neat, you can look though the ship and the 3 different levels. I really like Elder's Quarters on the Keeper Level, it looks so peaceful and tranquil.

ATU Facebook Fan Page | ATU Book Website

You can also check out Beth Revis herself - she has a really cute blog!

Beth Revis' Website | Blog | Twitter

And of course - none of this would be possible without Penguin Teen - you can check them out here, there are some pretty awesome people behind all of this!

Penguin Website | Twitter | Facebook

Also, io9 will be posting a 111 pg excerpt of the book from 11:11 AM eastern to 11:11 pm eastern today!

io9 exclusive

Buy Across The Universe by Beth Revis

 Chapters !ndigo | IndieBound

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Book Depository

*I am NOT affiliated with any of the above stores, and therefore will NOT recieve anything from them

#61 of my 101 Things To Do In 1001 Days...

Last year (January 10th to be exact) I made a list of 101 Things to do in 1001 days. It was something my sister was doing, and I thought it was a fun idea. So, I made my list, and #61 happened to be -

Read at least 25 books that I haven't read before
(The reasoning behind this is that I tend to re-read a lot of my books, like the Twilight series that I've read at least 3 times each)

And as of November 27th, I can check this off!

Here's my list of the books I read.

1. Sarah's Key - Tatiana De Rosnay          
2. The Gum Thief - Douglas Coupland       
3. Green - Ted Dekker                                    
4. Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk                  
5. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold           
6. Flowers In The Attic - V.C Andrews      
7. Petals On The Wind - V.C Andrews      
8. House Rules - Jodi Picoult                      
9. The Reckoning - Kelley Armstrong       
10. Burned - P.C and Kristin Cast               
11. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut                
12. Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin
13. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer
14. The Shack - William P. Young
15. Gravity Brings Me Down - Natale Ghent | review
16. Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare | review
17. Breakfast At Tiffany's - Truman Capote
18. Room - Emma Donoghue | review
19. City of Bones - Cassandra Clare | review
20. City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare | review
21. City of Glass - Cassandra Clare | review
22. Boy Meets Boy - David Levithan | review
23. The Thirteenth Chime - Emma Michaels | review | author interview
24. Fallen - Lauren Kate | review
25. Freefall - Mindi Scott | review

Not all of these books were given a review. I started blogging and actually writing reviews after I got my first ARC ever, which was Clockwork Angel. After that, I got addicted to writing out my reviews. So books 15, 16 and 18 and up on my list got reviews.
I'm proud of myself for completing this, and for reading a wide variety of books. I can't wait to finish more of my list - including read a biography about someone important.

I hope you have fun reading which books I've read, and maybe you too could start your own list!

In My Mailbox - January 9, 2011

In My Mailbox credit goes to The Story Siren

I had a great week this week! I hope everyone else did too!

Bought:

Awakened by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast - The House of Night series is almost like my guilty pleasure read. I love this series and was so excited of the news of #8 and #9!

The Hunger Games bookmark and keychains - they were such a great price and I couldn't pass them up.

For Review:

Words by Ginny Yttrup | Goodreads Synopsis

The Redhead Revealed by Alice Clayton | Goodreads Synopsis

Choker by Elizabeth Woods | Goodreads Synopsis

So needless to say, I'm so very excited to read all of these books!

What did you get in your mailbox? Leave a link, and I'll be sure to check it out!

Need by Carrie Jones

Published: December 23, 2008
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Book

Summary: Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

My Review: I picked up this book at Chapters one day on the bargain shelf for pretty cheap! I had seen this book on other blogs out there, and the cover really intrigued me. I happened to be some place waiting for someone and Need was the only book I had with me, so I started it and since that first page, I couldn't put it down. I was hooked, and because of that, I read it pretty quick!
The book, Need is about Zara, a young girl who moves away from her mom, her home, and her friends. She moves to a small town where she realizes she has been followed by a strange man. Zara meets new friends, including Nick, Izzie and Devyn, and she feels like things are going to be okay - other than the strange man with gold dust who is following her around. Suddenly her life is turned upside down though when she realizes that her Gram (who she moved in with) her friends, and even her family are not who or what she originally thought. They know secrets and worlds that Zara never knew existed.
The characters in Need are fun and well written. Zara is a stubborn, driven, independent young girl. Izzie is a fun energetic girl who cares so much about her friendships. We meet Nick Colt and he's a handsome, mysterious guy and I found myself wanting to read more and more about him. To get to know him more I guess! There are other note-worthy characters too, Ian, Megan and Devyn. And they are all imperative characters to this novel too.
Carrie Jones' writing is excellent - she knows how to keep the reader guessing and interested throughout the whole book. The part I liked the most about Need, was the obsession with Phobias. I found it so interesting that there are so many phobias out there, and that Zara collects them.
Overall, Need by Carrie Jones was a good novel, and I've already gone out and got the second to the series, Captivate. I'm looking forward to reading it, and continuing the story (and getting to know Nick some more!)

And the covers of the novels are gorgeous, and that's a huge bonus!

Top Ten Tuesday - My Top 10 Books I Resolve To Read In 2011

Top Ten Tuesday credit goes to The Broke And The Bookish

We all have those books that we'd love to read, but never get around to them for some reason or another. So these 10 books are ones that I am resolving to read this year! (Again, in no particular order!)

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I've heard really really good reviews of this book, and would love to read it for myself

2. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - Since I first saw this book, I've wanted to read it. I have a copy (and gave away a copy on my blog) but have yet to pick it up. I will this year though!

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - I haven't read many classics, but would love to start, and I think this one is the best one to start with

4. Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson - Ever since The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo came out, I've been wanting to read it, and why not read the trilogy this year, right? Maybe this will be a book club pick :)

5. The Alchemist by Paulo Chelho - This has been on my wish-list and to be read list for ages (before I was blogging and reviewing.)

6. Dracula by Bram Stoker - I own this book, but haven't read it yet. I want to - soon. I want to be scared and see how the 'original' vampires are.

7. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - I recieved an ARC of this book, and tried to read it. But for whatever reason, I could not get into it. But reading reviews and such, I feel like I am missing out so much, so I plan to read it (or try again at least)

8. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins - No need to explain why I want to read this really. (I do own the first of the series)

9. Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult- Picoult is my favourite author, but I haven't read all of her books yet. This one I've heard is fabulous!

10. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult - Again, this is supposed to be one of her best books, I need to see for myself.

That's my top 10! What about you, what books do you resolve to read this year? Leave a link, and I'll check it out!

In My Mailbox (January 2, 2011)

Wow, it's time for another IMM post already? Where the heck did this week go!?

In My Mailbox credit goes to The Story Siren

Bought:
Captivate by Carrie Jones - Finished Need the other day - review will be up soon!
Shadowland by Alyson Noel - still haven't read any of her books, but have 3 now on my shelves
Harry Potter Pop up book - this one is for my daughter and I (both are huge Harry Potter fans) It's a fun, entertaining book filled with great pictures, and facts!

Won:
Room by Emma Donoghue - I read an ARC of this one, and I really liked it. Can't wait to dive into the finished copy.

Thanks to Chapters for the contest!