30 Book Giveaway at Bloody Bookaholic!!

Tashima Cullen at Bloody Bookaholic is giving away thirty books to say goodbye to 2010!! The contest ends on February 1st at 11:59 and extra entries are available. Click HERE to be linked directly to the contest! Here is a list of the books in the giveaway:

1. The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

2. Desired of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

3. Firelight by Sophie Jordan

4. My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

5. The Ivy by Lauren Kunze & Rina Onur

6. Changeless by Gail Carriger

7. Hero by Mike Lupica

8. Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

9. Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

10. Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

11. Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink

12. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

13. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

14. The Season of Risks by Susan Hubbard

15. Splendor by Anna Godbersen

16. The Gift, Witch & Wizard by James Patterson

17. You by Charles Benoit

18. The Enemy by Charlie Higson

19. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

20. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

21. Vordak the Incomprehensible: How to Grow Up and Rule the World

22. The Steps Across the Water by Adam Copnik

23. Vampires: The Occult Truth

24. Ask Amy Green Boy Trouble by Sarah Webb

25. I'll Get There. It Better Be worth the Trip. by John Donovan

26. Virgin Territory by James Lecesne

27. Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart

28. Plain Kate by Erin Bow

29. Murder Afloat by Jane Leslie Conly

30. Scumble by Ingrid Law

I am so excited for this contest!!! Good luck everyone!

Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn

Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flinn

Series: -

Book #: 1

Release Date: October 1st, 2007

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Page #: 304

I am a beast.

A beast!

Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll,stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.


Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Crazy for Books: Book Blogger Hop!

Jennifer at Crazy for Books puts on an event every week called the Book Blogger Hop. This event connects a book blogger to other book blogger, and it seems fun! Anyone who has a book blog can enter if they primarily post about books. Click HERE to read more about it and enter the list. You do not have to enter the list every week, you can do it whenever you like. Every week that you enter, you have to answer a question from another participant.
This week's question: There isn't one yet :)

Follow Friday at Parajunkee's View!

This is my first time participating in Follow Friday. :) It is an event hosted every week by Parajunkee's View, letting members of the blogging world connect with each other. Here are the rules from Parajunkee:

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:



1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - http://www.loganeturner.com/
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog! 

There will also be a question every week, letting the readers get to know the blogger a little better. This week's question is:

Who do you cheer for?

This is a hard question, because I don't really follow sports. If I had to choose, I would say Manchester United Football Club. What can I say? My parents are huge fans and their best friends are fans of Man. Utd's rival, Manchester City. It's quite amusing to watch. :D

US Giveaway: Win a copy of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles!

This will be my first giveaway ever!! :D For my first giveaway, I am giving away a copy of Perfect Chemistry to one lucky winner! The contest ends on February 20th, one month from today. Here are the rules for the contest:

1. You must be a follower of my blog (A Reader's Ramblings).

2. You must be at least thirteen years old, or have parental consent.

3. I will choose one winner on 20th of February, 2011, using random.org.

4. You must live in the US.

5. I will email the winner. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours(2 days), I will pick a new winner.
6. There will be extra entries available for this contest:

    - +3 for following my affiliate, Amber Skye's blog, Reading Addict.

    - +2 for being my friend/adding me as a friend on Goodreads (Eliza Mellark).

Click HERE to fill out the form for my giveaway! Good luck :)

About the book:

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.


In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart

ARC Review: Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Title: Vesper

Author: Jeff Sampson
Series: Deviants
Book #: 1
Release Date: January 25th 2011
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 304


Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.


The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely— something not human?


As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

This book was part of the werewolf-vampire craze that has been happening since Twilight. The thing I enjoyed about Vesper was that it wasn't "Oh my, that person is so weird...there must be something strange about them". This was just a normal, geeky girl, who started doing things out of the ordinary for her the same night one of her classmates died. The story about murder mixed in with high school drama was interesting...but maybe a little too predictable.

Emily was not the usual protagonist, and I liked that about her. She wasn't a special, popular, beautiful person, she was just a normal sixteen year old. She made the story more believable and realistic. At first, I thought Emily was like me: she likes to read, watch movies, and she isn't the most talkative person with everyone at school. My connection with her was frayed a little when the story twisted and turned, but because of the initial connection, it made me more interested in the story.

The plot was pretty good, but as I said before, it was a little predictable for the most part. However, their was a part of the plot that I did not see coming. Throughout the novel, Emily was searching for something, but she didn't know what or why. When she finally found it, I was shocked. It was the best part of the story, for me.

Overall, the main storyline was average. The entire book seemed to be setting up for the next book, but I'm not sure I'm tempted enough to bother reading it. I have given this book a rating of three masks.

ARC Review: The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier

Title: The Floating Islands

Author: Rachel Neumeier

Series: -

Book #: 1

Release Date: February 8th 2011
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 400

When Trei loses his family in a tragic disaster, he must search out distant relatives in a new land. The Floating Islands are unlike anything Trei has ever seen: stunning, majestic, and graced with kajurai, men who soar the skies with wings.


Trei is instantly sky-mad, and desperate to be a kajurai himself. The only one who fully understands his passion is Araene, his newfound cousin. Prickly, sarcastic, and gifted, Araene has a secret of her own . . . a dream a girl cannot attain.

Trei and Araene quickly become conspirators as they pursue their individual paths. But neither suspects that their lives will be deeply entwined, and that the fate of the Floating Islands will lie in their hands. . . .

Filled with rich language, and told in alternating voices, The Floating Islands is an all-encompassing young adult fantasy read.

Imagine being told you couldn't attain your only wish, something you had been dreaming about. That's the problem the two protagonists face in The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier. This novel was a cross between the past and future, highlighting the lack of women's rights and also showing a world where you live on a floating island and men fly with wings...only a few men, though.

Trei comes to the island after the death of his three family members. On his way to the island, he sees the Kajurahi, the men who have wings to protect the islands. As soon as he sees them, he wants to be one. He wants to be able to soar above the clouds, and let go of the sadness that is pushing him into the ground. Trei is a great character, who learns to overcome a disaster and start his life again. He was a great friend and support for his cousin, Areana, also, making him my favourite character of the novel.

At first, I did not like Areana. I thought she was stuck-up and rude, but when I read on and got to know the thoughts that she was battling in her head, it was hard not to feel sympathy for her. Her dream to become a chef was unattainable because of the lack of rights given to girls on the island, and she resented it.

Overall, I enjoyed the split point of view, which swapped every chapter. It was a nice book about new friendships and battling with your internal desires, although the plot didn't seem entirely new. There were elements from other stories melded with the new imaginings of the author. I'm giving this book a 3.5 mask rating.

.5

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday was created by Jill at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post where you share the books you can't wait to read! Check out the Waiting on Wednesday posts on my affiliate, Amber Skye's blog, Reading Addict! This week's Waiting on Wednesday post is about the upcoming novel, Girl Saves Boy by Steph Bowe!

About the Book:

The first time we met, Jewel Valentine saved my life.



Isn’t it enough having your very own terminal disease, without your mother dying? Or your father dating your Art teacher?
No wonder Sacha Thomas ends up in the lake that Saturday evening…
But the real question is: how does he end up in love with Jewel Valentine?
With the help of quirky teenage prodigies Little Al and True Grisham, Sacha and Jewel have a crazy adventure, with a little lobster emancipation along the way.
But Sacha’s running out of time, and Jewel has secrets of her own.
Girl Saves Boy is a hugely talented debut novel, funny and sad, silly and wise. It’s a story of life, death, love… and garden gnomes.

My thoughts:  The reason why I was drawn to this book is the age of the author. The author, Steph Bowe, is only sixteen! After reading the premise for the book, I am now even more excited to read it. I think the author's age will show in the believablility of her characters, because she can relate to them easily. This book is out now in Australia, and should be published in the US later this year!