Friday, January 18, 2013

Feature & Follow #22




Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.


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Here’s this week’s question:

Who is your favorite villain from a book?



 
Cam
from
Fallen by Kate Lauren
 
 
I don't know if one could actually classify him as a villian because not everything he did, was evil. There were many moments when he acted with good intent.




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So what's your FF?
 
To play along visit Parajunkee & Alison Can Read.
 
Follow them, follow their Featured Blogs and then visit as many blogs as you can, posting your answer.
 
And don't forget to leave your link in the comments section below!



Thursday, January 17, 2013

Swoon Thursday #22 & Review - Shadow Eyes

 
 
 
The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme. Here's how it works.

From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog!



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On Tuesday, I posted a Tease from a book called,
 
 
Shadow Eyes
by
Dusty Crabtree
 
 
At the time, I was only halfway through. Now that I have completed it, I can reveal my thoughts along with answering the question - Did Iris and Patrick connect? 
 
 
First - The Blurb
 
Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil. But she is the only one who can see them. She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters. First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.
 
Second - My Thoughts
 
As mentioned in my Tuesday post, I received a copy of this book from Musa Publishing in exchange for an honest review. To start, I would like to say that Dusty has a nice writing style. Her description of the characters, places and events makes it easy for the reader to picture what is going on in the story and become captivated by the mystery.
So, to the tale… When Iris Kohl was fourteen, something tragic occurred in her life which allows her to see shadows - dark forms which cling to the living and inspire evil thoughts and behaviour. She is also able to see bright light forms, which supposedly, symbolize good. However, these seem to be rare in comparison. Believing that people would think her crazy, she has not shared this secret with anyone, not even her family.
When we enter the story, it is three years after the event. Iris has just started her junior year in high school along with her two best friends, Nicole and Lexi. Developing a mutual attraction with a fellow student, Josh, they quickly enter a relationship. However, it does not last long because of an evil shadow which forms around him, causing him to behave out of character and not in a way that Iris feels comfortable with.
In the meantime, several new characters are introduced, Mr Delaney (Iris’s English Teacher) and Kyra (a new student who befriends her almost instantly). Both of them seem to have calming auras surrounding them, and at times, Kyra also displays a bright light indicating that she is filled with good intentions.
A third addition is Patrick (another new student - who for some reason - does not display either dark shadows or bright light). Iris is immediately attracted to him, and after ending her relationship with Josh, begins to spend more and more time with Patrick.
In the back ground, we are also introduced to Iris’s mother, who seems to be having relationship troubles of her own (Iris’s mom and dad divorced some years earlier), her sister Hanna, who has a constant bright light surrounding her, and her sister Jenny, who is married and desperately wanting to have a child.
Many questions are raised throughout the progression of this story, but few are answered before the end. As I prefer things to move at a fast pace and secrets to be revealed in stages along the way, I found this to be a little frustrating. However, having said that, I still found the book to be an interesting read and recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind being kept in the dark until the last few chapters.
 
My rating - 4 out of 5 stars.
 
And Now for the Swoon
 
He took a deep breath and slowly turned around to face me sitting speechlessly on my bed. His eyes were impassioned with both fervor and anguish as he approached me and spoke in a quavering voice. "You're also beautiful and captivating. But I don't need to look at your bedroom to understand that. You hooked me the first moment I laid eyes on you. And you've kept me hanging on your string ever since." He sounded almost resentful for me somehow luring him in, which seemed absurd as it was truly the other way around.
When he finally reached me, I could see a fire blazing in his eyes that was both irresistible and painful to watch. He grabbed both of my arms and snatched me off my bed, staring intently into my eyes before crashing his mouth against mine in the most passionate frenzied kiss I had ever felt or witnessed. His lips and tongue had an electric charge that shocked me, and I nearly burst as potent lust pulsated through my suddenly weakened body.
 
 
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What do you think?
If you liked my SWOON, please leave a comment below!
 
 


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Teaser Tuesday #21 Shadow Eyes

 
 
 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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This weeks Tease comes from my current read

Shadow Eyes
by
Dusty Crabtree 
 


 
 
I was given this book by Musa Publishing for review late last year, but due to prior commitments, have only now managed to find time to read it.



My Tease:

"No need to apologize." He grinned down at me flirtatiously, his face only inches away from mine. "If my chest is comfortable, feel free to use it as a pillow whenever you want." He leaned his head in closer. "You know I'm available for you anytime... day...weekends... nights." With each word, he brought his lips nearer to mine, and they felt like magnets pulling my lips toward them. He tilted his head slightly. His breath tickled my cheek. His parted lips barely grazed mine. Paralyzed and powerless, I hesitated, waiting for him to actually kiss me...


Sorry, but as I am only half-way through, you will have to wait until Swoon Thursday to find out if Iris and Patrick actually connect. I'll also be posting my review then so make sure you visit again to find out my thoughts.



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Did you enjoy??

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or if you don't have a blog, then please leave your ‘teasers’ in the comment section below!

Happy Teasing!!!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Stacking the Shelves #18



Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks.

After searching through various bookstores on line, I managed to add two more books to my shelf.


Once Bitten (Haven #1)
by
Kalayna Price


&

Twice Dead (Haven #2)
also by
Kalayna Price




So what did you add to your shelf this week?
I'd really like to know.
Please leave a comment below.